One of the most surprising performances thus far in the 2022 NFL season has been that of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. Smith had the opportunity to win the starting job after Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos this past offseason for a package that included quarterback Drew Lock.
Smith and Lock battled it out throughout the summer, training camp and preseason. Ultimately, it was Smith who won the job, taking advantage of having a leg up in the competition, entering his third season with the franchise.
Smith has proven all the doubters wrong thus far. Many people questioned why the Seahawks didn’t look to bring more options in to challenge for the quarterback job, but Smith has been excellent, doing exactly what Pete Carroll and the coaching staff need him to do.
Seattle is currently 2-2 on the season and Smith has turned in some excellent performances. In fact, he has found himself in the record books for how well he has played. Smith has a completion percentage of 77.3 through four games. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that is the highest completion percentage by any quarterback through a team’s first four weeks of the season with a minimum of 125 attempts.
Given how Smith has played throughout his career previously, this is quite an impressive feat. Coming into the 2022 season, the former second-round pick had completed only 58.8 percent of his pass attempts in his career. Playing at this level through four games was certainly unexpected as he completed 70 percent of his passes in just five out of 34 starts coming into the season.
Smith has the Seattle offense playing well, as he is performing at a higher level than even Wilson is. On the season, the West Virginia product has thrown for 1,037 yards and six touchdowns.
Keeping the turnovers down has been key for Geno Smith, as he has only two interceptions and zero fumbles lost. Even if his completion percentage regresses toward the mean of his career, as long as he keeps the turnovers down, the Seahawks will remain competitive.
