Grading Seahawks QB Geno Smith in clutch week 8 performance

The Seattle Seahawks are now winners of three straight games. Sitting at 5-3, many are now considering the Seahawks a legit threat to not only win the NFC West. And Seattle could actually do something in the playoffs.

The Week 8 victory over the New York Giants once again displayed complimentary football for the Settle Seahawks. In the back-to-back weeks, Seattle has shown their potential when all three phases of the game blend together. The results are two wins over solid teams who will most likely end up in the playoffs.

More so, the victories also allude to the fantastic job that Pete Carroll has done with this team thus far. With the majority of their rookie class getting the start and coming through, flashes from the past are starting to pop up. The 2012 Seahawks came out of nowhere with a bunch of young guys who had chips on their shoulders, eager to make a name for themselves and to put their franchise on the map.

Only this time around, our quarterback isn’t a rookie who was selected in the 3rd round. It is a guy in Geno Smith who has been kicked to the curb not once, not twice, but three different times by three different teams. He has been nothing but special this year and is starting to make a legit climb in the MVP race.

Evaluating Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith’s Week 8 start

Should we begin to hope that the Seattle Seahawks extend Geno Smith before the end of the season? His play speaks volumes about his tremendous character and self-belief. We are essentially halfway through the season and he has proven week after week that this is no fluke (subscription required). He is a quarterback who is playing at a high level, proving he belongs.

Through the first 8 games, we’ve seen him help his team win in different ways. Early on, he was lights out; padding up the stat sheet with monster games. Recently, with the better defensive play, pressure is alleviated off his shoulders and resulting in better decisions with the football. He is being quick in his reads, making checks at the line of scrimmage and most importantly, delivering in the fourth quarter as he did in Week 8.

I think entering Week 8, many expected a grind-it-out type game between New York and Seattle. Really, that is what we got. Both defenses came out hot, with a lot of energy and continued with their solid play throughout. It came down to which offense was going to be able to compile the big drive late in the game. Luckily for us, it was our Seahawks led by Geno Smith.

The drive referred to by Michael-Shawn was capped off with a beautiful double move by Tyler Lockett, who made up for his earlier mistakes. when scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth. The whole offense came together. On this drive, in particular, the Seahawks marched right down the field when they needed to the most!

Also, the togetherness of this team was once again on display. It is obvious that they have bought into what Pete Carroll is selling. They truly believe they can contend and it is something they tried telling us about before the season started. It is coming to fruition and they are gaining more and more momentum each time they win.

One of the unsung heroes this season has been offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron. In Week 8, he refused to go away from the run game, even though the Giants defensive front was doing a good job of containing Kenneth Walker III. Sticking to it helped them ultimately close out this game. Overall, another impressive performance from this Seattle Seahawks team.

Despite not being a captain, Geno has done a great job of commanding everybody’s respect. His work ethic does the talking and his aura becomes more powerful with each clutch performance.

Grade: A