3 reasons to have great hopes for the Seattle Seahawks for the rest of 2023
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks will unofficially be halfway through their season after Week 9. I say unofficially because there are now 17 games in the season. One would have to write an article and post it during halftime of Week 10 to truly talk about Seattle's first half of 2023 and I am far too lazy to do that (plus, I'll be watching the game).
So far Seattle might be a pinch better than expected. A 4-3 start would have been fine, too, but to be 5-2 and have a mathematical lead in the NFC West for now? We can be happy with that, right?
Plus, no team is unbeatable. There are no unbeaten teams left in the NFL. But is Seattle's season shaping up to be a great one? Here are a few positives to think that could be true.
Seattle Seahawks should get better play from Geno Smith
Geno Smith is a bit Jekyll and Hyde this year. He completes 67.6 percent of his passes (13th in the league) and his interception percentage (2.7) is less than Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and just .1 worse than Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Smith also has led two game-winning drives which is tied for second in the league (the obviously overlooked Desmond Ridder of the Atlanta Falcons somehow has four already).
My point is that Geno Smith isn't a bad quarterback, but he also isn't playing nearly as well as he was at the beginning of last year when he had a completion percentage over 70 percent and instead of having 9 touchdown passes and 6 interceptions as he does through seven games in 2023, he had 11 touchdown passes and just 3 interceptions at the same point last year. Smith didn't get interception until Week 13 in 2022.
So what should we expect from Geno Smith for the rest of the season? The quarterback Seattle had in the first part of last year or the quarterback he's been since? In a weird way, Seattle's upcoming schedule being so tough might help as Smith seems to play more efficiently against good defenses. At the end of the 2022 season, Smith had 6 touchdown passes against just 2 picks against the very good defenses of the Jets, 49ers, and Panthers combined, for instance.
As long as Smith can be efficient and doesn't turn the ball over much against upcoming opponents the Ravens, Eagles, Cowboys, and 49ers (twice), Seattle could steal a couple of those games. That might be all they need to stay in good seeding for the playoffs.