Halftime Observations: Geno Smith Starts Hot, Seattle Seahawks Lead 17-13 in New England

Dialed in completing almost 85 percent of his passes, Geno Smith has been on the money as the Seahawks scored on three of their final four possessions in the first half.

Sep 15, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws a pass against the New England Patriots in the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Mixing in explosives with strong third and fourth down situational play on offense, the Seattle Seahawks went into the break nursing a 17-13 lead over the New England Patriots in a surprisingly high scoring first half in Foxboro.

Despite being under frequent pressure by New England's front line and taking a sack on the opening drive, Geno Smith played a near flawless first half, completing 16 out of 19 passes for 169 yards and a 56-yard touchdown strike to receiver DK Metcalf. The star wideout sprinted between two Patriots defenders without anyone picking him up on a coverage bust and the quarterback hit him wide open in stride to knot the game at seven apiece midway through the first quarter.

Smith followed up by leading an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that featured 19 and 16-yard receptions by receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a one-yard quarterback sneak on fourth down to keep the possession alive. Patriots cornerback Marco Wilson tackled receiver Tyler Lockett in the end zone on an incompletion by Smith on the next snap, leading to a defensive pass interference call that put the ball at the New England one-yard line, where Zach Charbonnet punched it in from a yard out to give Seattle its first lead.

To close out the half, after a Dee Williams punt return set the Seahawks up with excellent field position inside a minute to play, Smith completed a 14-yard third down toss to Noah Fant and Jason Myers split the uprights on a 44-yard field goal to extend the lead as time expired.

A frequent target for Smith from the outset, Smith-Njigba led the Seahawks with six receptions for 57 yards, while Metcalf added four receptions for a team-high 78 yards. Filling in for an injured Ken Walker III, Charbonnet had a quiet half overall, rushing for 19 yards on seven carries and adding three catches for 15 yards.

Defensively, the Seahawks haven't had an answer for veteran tight end Hunter Henry, who finished the half with seven receptions for 99 yards, including a 35-yard scamper on a screen that set up Joey Slye's second field goal of the second quarter. On the Patriots second drive, he caught a trio of passes for 37 yards to move the chains all three times, setting up a short touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to rookie Ja'Lynn Polk to put the home team out in front 7-0 early.

Fortunately, Seattle was able to lock things down in the red zone on New England's two scoring drives in the second quarter. Shortly after Metcalf's long touchdown, Leonard Williams chased down Brissett on a third down pass play, forcing an incompletion intended for Henry along the sideline and a short Slye field goal. On the next possession, despite two penalties by Devon Witherspoon that prolonged the drive, rookie linebacker Tyrice Knight forced a third down incompletion from Brissett to lead to another short field goal.

Able to sneak away from multiple sacks in the first half with Boye Mafe being the only one who actually managed to bring him down once, Brissett played a clean first two quarters completing 11 of 19 passes for 117 yards. The Seahawks did do a quality job bottling up Stevenson, limiting him to 25 yards on nine carries, while Antonio Gibson has been more effective as a change of pace back with 29 yards on just four carries.