Grading Geno Smith: Stellar performance leads to Week 4 victory

Geno Smith opened many eyes in his breakthrough performance on the road in an early must-win game for the Seattle Seahawks.

Through September, a glaring problem for this Seahawks offense was their inability to put points on the board in the second half of ball games. That, combined with a defense that is off to a horrendous start is a losing formula.

A formula that was on display on the road in San Francisco in Week 2 and at home against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3. But, the man with the poetic verses that is known as Geno Smith really stepped up to the plate in Week 4 against a Detroit Lions team that cannot be slept on.

The Week 4 victory places the Seahawks back in first place in the NFC West. More importantly, they look like they are winning the divorce with Russell Wilson. Primarily, because of the 10-year veteran who has never given up on himself.

Speaking of poetry, one may say this Seahawks offense exploded just like DK Metcalf did when he got carted off the field in the second half.

Evaluating Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith’s Week 4 start

Back in the offseason, when the Seattle Seahawks resigned TE Will Dissly to a 3-year deal, most mocked it. However, after the first quarter of the season, we are now seeing what the front office saw.

Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has done an excellent job of getting the tight ends involved. It seems that Geno is able to establish a nice rhythm when he can get the ball out quickly. Against the Lions in Week 4, we saw a lot of play-action bootlegs with a tight end pulling across the formation.

The one formation that caught my eye was the pistol setup that gets audible into a spread look. Forces linebackers to kick out in coverage, creating a mismatch for Noah Fant, who can outrun them. Or, opens up the run game with a shotgun handoff.

The scheming of getting the ball out quickly has probably been the biggest difference of Waldron’s offense this year compared to last. More importantly, Geno’s commitment to making the smart play versus the big play has been a pivotal factor in the success of this offense.

His completion percentage speaks for itself. In Week 4, he was the engine that drove this Seattle Seahawks offense to victory. How beautiful was his back shoulder ball to Will Dissly early in the game? The precision. The tight spiral. The accuracy. When asked to make the big throw, Geno delivered as well.

The Lions have been blitzing quarterbacks more than 40 percent of the time throughout the season. In this game, we saw Geno step up and make big throws to Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Similar to Week 3, the willingness to get DK involved really opened up the rest of this offense.

Lastly, one of the reasons Geno has been able to get this glamor and love post-victory is because of the offensive line. Smith was barely touched. That is quite the impressive feat with two rookie tackles starting. When they weren’t pass-blocking, they opened up nice holes for Rashaad Penny who also had a monster day.

The offense continues to give us hope. They have weapons. They have been executing well. And finally, they scored multiple times in the second half. It’s really hard not to root for Geno, who has had an incredible NFL journey.

Grade: A