Geno Smith Among 3 Seahawks to Snag October Player of the Month Honors
Notching three consecutive victories to vault to the top of the NFC West standings, the Seahawks put the rest of the NFL on notice in October and now have the individual accolades to show for it.
With the calendar flipping to November on Tuesday, Seattle nearly pulled off a sweep for October NFC Player of the Month awards. Capturing the first Offensive Player of the Month award of his career, quarterback Geno Smith continued his fairy tale-worthy redemption story under center, while first-year sensations Ken Walker III and Tariq Woolen won Rookie of the Month honors.
Per the team's official Twitter account, the Seahawks became the first team since the NFL began awarding Rookie of the Month in 1996 to have at least three players win monthly awards in the same month.
Orchestrating one of the league's most explosive offenses, Smith completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and threw nine touchdowns compared to just one interception in five October starts. His 113.1 passer rating for the month ranked second in the NFL behind only Cincinnati's Joe Burrow and he finished tied for third in touchdown passes as well as fifth in yards per attempt.
On top of his passing numbers, Smith also enjoyed a strong month as a dual-threat signal caller, using his underrated mobility to rush for 143 yards and a touchdown while averaging close to six yards per carry in October.
“He's the real deal. This is the real - we're seeing, there's no mystery he's going to run out of gas or something," Carroll said of Smith's play after he led the Seahawks to a 27-13 win over the Giants on Sunday. "It's not like that. He knows exactly what he's doing and he shows you week in and week out, throw after throw after throw. There's nothing for us to hold him but in the highest of expectations really. What a thrilling story for the kid. He just hung in there so tough and outlasted it, and now he's enjoying all the fun of it."
Smith becomes the first Seahawk since Russell Wilson in September 2020 to be named NFC Offensive Player of the Month and the fifth quarterback in franchise history to achieve the feat.
While Smith most certainly deserved recognition, his job has been made easier due to the emergence of Walker, who stepped into the starting lineup after Rashaad Penny suffered a season-ending broken ankle in Week 5. Quickly surfacing as one of the league's most dynamic backs, the second-round pick out of Michigan State racked up 432 rushing yards and five touchdowns in October, ranking sixth and second in the NFL in those categories respectively.
Showing a propensity for explosive runs, Walker ripped off five carries of 20-plus yards last month, including a 69-yard touchdown against the Saints and a 74-yard touchdown against the Chargers. Thanks in part to those chunk plays, even after a tough outing overall against the Giants, he ranked eighth among backs with at least 50 carries averaging 5.5 per carry in October.
"I think he just continues to just show us who he is. He’s very clear, he’s a clear guy, and we know who he is and how he sees things," Carroll said of Walker on Wednesday. "He’s really just validating with the opportunities. I don’t really feel like we cut him loose yet, I think he has big games ahead. We didn’t run the ball well last week. He made a couple of terrific plays, but I think we are going to see even more than we have seen already, and not just in the run game, but the pass game too.”
Quickly making a name for himself, Walker is the first Seahawks rookie since Wilson back in December 2012 to win NFC Offensive Rookie of the Month honors.
As Walker torched opposing defenses and found the end zone with great frequency, Woolen continued to stake his case for Defensive Rookie of the Year with an impressive October. The fifth-round pick out of UTSA led the NFL with three interceptions, including a pick-six in a win over the Lions, while also recovering a pair of fumbles to lead a resurgent Seahawks defense.
Per Pro Football Focus, opposing quarterbacks posted a 57.5 passer rating when targeting Woolen in October, completing 14 out of 24 passes for 187 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. He also produced a pair of pass breakups in wins over the Chargers and Giants to close out the month, nearly coming away with additional picks.
Prior to Woolen being announced as the winner on Thursday, Seattle had not had a defensive rookie earn NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month honors since Lofa Tatupu way back in December 2005.
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