Let Geno Cook: Seahawks Might Have Answer at Quarterback After All
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As Lumen Field erupted in chants of "Geno! Geno! Geno!" it appears the Seattle Seahawks may have an answer at the quarterback position after all.
Geno Smith's numbers weren't super flashy on Monday night, but he did enough to lead the Seattle Seahawks to a 17-16 victory over the Denver Broncos in Russell Wilson's return to Seattle.
Smith started the first half red hot, completing all four of his passes for 71 yards, capping off the drive with a 38-yard pass to tight end Will Dissly for a touchdown to open the scoring.
From there he would complete his next nine passes, not throwing an incompletion until the half was nearly over. He finished the first half with an efficient stat line, completing 17-of-18 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
However, while he was lights out in the first half, the second half was a slightly different story. In the second half, Smith only completed 6-of-10 passes for 31 yards with no touchdowns. While he took care of the ball, the second half left something to be desired, as the Seahawks let the Broncos hang around until their final possession.
Of course, Smith isn't entirely to blame for his second-half performance. The Seahawks pass protection started to break down, leading to a pair of sacks for Bradley Chubb that killed Seahawk drives.
Overall, though, Smith did what was needed to get the Seahawks to 1-0. He finished the game completing 23-of-28 passes for 195 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Could he have put up bigger numbers? Sure, but the same argument can be made for almost any quarterback after Week 1.
Smith was far from perfect, but he was also efficient and protected the football, not putting the Seahawks in positions to lose. One game does not define Smith's season, as he still has 16 more left to play. However, there was a lot to take away from this and be happy about if you're Pete Carroll and the Seahawks' offensive staff.
The question that swirled around the Seahawks this offseason was simply who the next franchise quarterback would be. From Geno Smith and Drew Lock to a potential top-five pick in the 2023 draft, even the faint rumors of Jimmy Garoppolo, it seemed no one knew who the Seahawks' quarterback of the future would be.
Well, they just might have found their answer.
Yes, one game is not enough to make a concrete conclusion either for or against Smith. That said, Smith showed flashes of finally putting it together as a quarterback to build around.
If he can string those flashes together into sustained success throughout the season, then the Seahawks could have found their future franchise quarterback.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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