Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks entered Week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens feeling good about themselves. By virtue of their own success (5-2 heading into Week 9), and the division-rival San Francisco 49ers having lost three consecutive, the Seahawks were in first place in the NFC West.
However, Pete Carroll’s squad was absolutely no match for the homestanding Ravens in what ended up being an ugly 37-3 loss.
“Our football team did not answer the bell here. We couldn’t get it done. We came in here to slug it out and they did a better job than we did,” Carroll told reporters after the game.
In a continuation of what have been mixed results for Smith this season, he completed a mere 13-of-28 passes for 157 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception. The reigning NFL Comeback Player of the Year also lost a fumble as he was under duress throughout the game (four sacks).
Fresh off signing a three-year, $75 million contract extension this past offseason, Smith has regressed big time from what was a career-best performance from the former second-round pick last season. The quarterback led the NFL with a 70% completion while accounting for 30 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.
While Seattle entered Sunday’s game having put up a stellar start to the season, the team was able to do this despite Smith’s lackluster play on a weekly basis.
| Week | Opponent (result) | Completion | Attempts | Yards | TD | INT |
| 1 | Rams (L 13-30) | 16 | 26 | 112 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Lions (W 37-31) | 32 | 41 | 328 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Panthers (W 37-27) | 23 | 36 | 296 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Giants (W 24-3) | 13 | 20 | 110 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Bengals (L 13-17) | 27 | 41 | 326 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Cardinals (W 20-10) | 18 | 24 | 219 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | Browns (W 24-20) | 23 | 37 | 254 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | Ravens (L 3-37) | 13 | 28 | 157 | 0 | 1 |
Over the course of the past four games, Smith has accounted for a mere four touchdowns to go with seven giveaways. That’s not putting your team in a great position to succeed.
This regression to the mean also has us wondering whether Smith’s 2022 performance for Seattle was nothing more than a fluke.
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Geno Smith’s struggles and what they tell us
Prior to the start of last season, Smith was looked at as nothing more than a journeyman. A second-round pick of the New York Jets back in 2013, Smith tallied all of 34 touchdowns and 37 interceptions in 45 games (34 starts) throughout his first nine seasons in the league. It’s similar to the performances we’ve seen over the past month in the Pacific Northwest.
“You know, I think you always have to have a balanced attack, especially going up against a great defense. You know, today we didn’t do a great job of that, but like I said, that’s all on me and I’ve got to figure out ways to be better and help out,” Smith said after Sunday’s loss.
It is not going to get much easier for Smith and the Seahawks moving forward. After a two-game stretch against the Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Rams, they take on the San Francisco 49ers (twice), Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles over the course of four weeks.
An argument can be made that Smith needs to revert back to 2022 form if the Hawks are going to have any chance of dethroning San Francisco in the NFC West moving forward.
But based on his recent track record, it’s looking more and more like Smith’s 2022 season was more of a fluke than anything else.
Time will tell on that front. For now, there have to be some weary fans in the Pacific Northwest after what we saw from Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.