‘He’s special’: One play at Detroit shows why Seahawks’ Geno Smith is atop NFL in passing

It was the best play of Geno Smith’s early season full of excellent ones.

It was one of his most impressive plays in three seasons as the Seahawks’ quarterback.

It may be the best 11-yard gain of his 12-year career.

Down 28-14 to the Lions late in the third quarter inside rockin’ Ford Field in Detroit Monday night, Smith and his offense faced a third and 8 at midfield. Lions Pro Bowl pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson bull-rushed into Seahawks third-string right tackle Stone Forsythe. Cornerback Amik Robertson blitzed free outside of them. No Seahawk blocked Robertson. He went in high on Smith, trying to sack him while hitting the quarterback’s throwing arm to force a fumble.

Smith saw Robertson leap at him. He ducked. Robertson flew across Smith’s back to the ground past him. Spinning then regaining his balance, Smith ran to his right, around the charging Hutchinson. Forsythe then let Hutchinson go, thinking his QB was scrambling far away and perhaps for the line to gain.

But there were too many Lions in front and outside Smith. He needed to throw to get this first down. So Smith stopped his scramble. He stopped running.

Right in front of the re-charging Hutchinson.

Staring into one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers, a stud who entered the game leading the league in sacks and had 4 1/2 of them in one game two weeks before, Smith fired a dart back over his left shoulder across the middle. The ball zipped between two Lions linebackers. That’s where wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had run, following Smith’s scramble. The ball stuck into Smith-Njigba just out of the reaches of the two defenders for a wowing gain of 11 yards and the first down.

The Seahawks’ drive continued to a touchdown that got them within 28-20. But their defense ultimately lost the game, 42-29.

When folks check in on how Smith — one week from his 34th birthday, in his first starting job after seven seasons as a journeyman backup — is leading the NFL in passing yards (1,182), completions (115) and attempts (159) and is second only to Washington’s Jayden Daniels in completion rate (72.3%) through four games, check out that play.

It’s what has the Seahawks 3-1 and in first place in the NFC West.

That effectiveness in sticking with plays when protection breaks down is what separates good quarterbacks from, well...elite.

The nation’s football psyche hasn’t been willing to consider Smith that.

Thursday, Smith talked about what he saw and thought on it.

“Just always keeping my eyes down field. You know, that’s the main thing. I feel like that’s a big part of my game,” Smith said. “Obviously, you know, I have the ability to scramble and get yards if I can. But my game throughout my lifetime has been to hurt you with my arm. So just trying to find guys open downfield, keep my eyes open, trying to keep the play alive.

“Jaxon did a great job finding the open window.”

Did he see Hutchinson charging at his chest as he stood in to throw the ball?

“Yeah, I saw him,” Smith said, deadpanning with a straight face and no voice inflection.

And you stared him down?

“Yeah, he’s a football player,” Smith said. “Like the rest of them.”

That self-belief has Smith at the top of the NFL entering the Seahawks hosting the New York Giants (1-3) Sunday at Lumen Field (1:25 p.m., channel 7).

That confidence has Smith positioning himself for a second consecutive huge, multiyear Seahawks contract. That’s following his seven consecutive one-year deals at league-minimum play as a backup for three teams.

His current three-year deal worth $75 million , which he got after his first career Pro Bowl season in 2022 with Seattle, ends following the 2025 season. The Seahawks are gauging this season to see if and what they want to offer him before next season.

“Obviously, Geno’s playing at a really high level,” Seattle offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said.

“I’ve said it for quite a while now: I think that Geno’s an elite quarterback. And it’s showing up.

“He’s special.”

Geno Smith’s pocket presence

Grubb says Smith has improved in just the six months the team’s new play caller (from the University of Washington) has been working with him at extending plays inside the pocket.

“I think he’s gotten a lot better at it,” Grubb said after practice Thursday. “We see it out here at practice every day. You see him running around, and he’ll finish a play. If it’s a scramble play in practice, he’s not just going to dirt the football. He’s going to keep playing.”

So, no, Smith’s play to Smith-Njigba was no accident.

“To be honest with you, I think some quarterbacks don’t do that. They just kind of drop the ball on the ground and they go to the next play,” Grubb said. “But, I think Geno looks for those opportunities, and he’s just a really hard worker.

“He’s looking for those things that he knows are going to come up in a football game.”

As Smith said following his rally in the fourth quarter and in overtime to Seattle’s win at New England in week two last month: “My mindset? Put the ball in 7’s hands. That’s my mindset.”

Grubb did that Monday night in Detroit. He saw the Lions staying in man-to-man coverage against DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Smith-Njigba and Seattle’s tight ends. So he called for Smith to throw on 18 of the first 22 plays. Grubb called for no-huddle. He pushed tempo.

Smith threw 56 times against the Lions. He completed 38 passes for 395 yards. All were his career highs. He threw a touchdown to rookie tight end AJ Barner.

“Just the way Coach Grubb calls the games, man, he’s not afraid to get the calls off the sheet, man,” Smith said. “He’s been aggressive. He’s trying to attack the defense. He’s setting things up. He’s always thinking about the next play, the next advantage that we can gain.

“For us as an offense, I don’t think we’ve executed exactly the way that we want to yet. But knowing that we have Coach Grubb and a system that’s going to always put us in the right position to make plays, it’s really up to us as players to execute.”

Seattle gained 38 first downs against Detroit, the most in team history. The offense gained 516 yards, their most since week four of 2022. Metcalf became the first Seahawk to have three consecutive 100-yard receiving games.

But the Seahawks lost.

“Shoot, positives?... I’m not a big fan of moral victories,” Smith said. “We lost the game, and that was that.

“As far as stats go, I really just care about wins and losses.”

Passing, not by design

Grubb has said much of all the throwing the Seahawks have done early this season has been to counter defenses trying to stop lead back Kenneth Walker’s running plays. The play caller said New England, for instance, stayed in fronts that dictated Smith change run plays to passes.

Against Detroit, Seattle fell behind 21-7 in the first half. Grubb, Smith and the offense were in catch-up mode the rest of the night.

Coach Mike Macdonald said this week throwing 56 times is not how he seeks to win games. He’s emphasized the importance of Seattle running the ball consistently.

“Geno’s operating the offense at a really high level where we’re getting in and out of certain plays that’ll dictate some run or pass in certain situations,” Macdonald said.

“I’m not really worried about the pass play numbers right now. It just doesn’t feel that many. The way (the Detroit) game played out turned into a drop-back fest, which it needed to be for us in order to have a chance to win the game. So, some games kind of dictate those terms.”

Smith similarly said Thursday all the throwing this season has been what defenses are giving him and the offense.

“Honestly, I’m just taking advantages of the opportunities that I’ve gotten,” he said.

Geno Smith seeks to...improve

Smith has four touchdowns against four interceptions this season. Two of those interceptions were tipped. A third came when center Connor Williams got beat on the second snap of the season. A Denver Bronco was into Smith’s legs as he underthrew an open Metcalf by 15 yards on his deep post route over the middle in the opener Sept. 8.

Leading the league in passing, Smith says he’s nowhere near where he wants to be through four games.

“I feel like I haven’t played by best yet,” he said, “to start rollin’, get rollin’. And I think it’s going to start here soon.

“I’m starting to get into my groove.

“I just got to play cleaner all around. I know I can be a lot better. Certainly hasn’t been my best four-game stretch here, but I can be a lot cleaner throughout the entire game. Really, just chasing that perfection. That’s something that I’m big on myself on.

“I know I’m not perfect, but I’m striving for it. So, I’m just trying to play a perfect game if I can.”

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