One of the biggest surprises so far this NFL season has been the play of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. He has been in the league for a decade now and after seemingly flaming out as a starting quarterback years ago, he seemed destined to finish his career as a nice veteran backup.
However, after the Seahawks traded away Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, Smith won the starting job and has put up big numbers.
He leads the NFL with a 75.2% completion percentage and has the league’s highest passer rating at 113.2. He has 1,305 passing yards with nine touchdown passes and two interceptions, averaging 8.3 yards per attempt.
Five games into the season, he is only four touchdown passes away from tying his career high in a season.
He was last a full-time starter in 2014 with the New York Jets.
Most would think that these numbers are a fluke.
The Arizona Cardinals’ coaching staff, who are preparing to face Smith and the Seahawks this coming Sunday afternoon, do not agree.
“Watching him all week, he’s done some special stuff,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. “He’s playing controlled, he’s reading defenses, keeping plays alive, he’s putting them in good plays. When you watch it, you can’t say it’s not real. It’s real.”
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury is impressed, too.
“You turn the tape on, I don’t care who you are, if you watch it and you didn’t know names, you’d think he’s a top-five guy,” he said Wednesday. ‘He’s playing that well.”
Smith has the Seattle offense playing extremely well. Even though the Cardinals are favored, a win won’t come easy with how Smith is playing.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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