Geno Smith Building Seattle Seahawks' Legacy Stacking Game-Winning Drives

Moving out of Russell Wilson's shadow, Geno Smith's heroics in the clutch continue to create his own legend under center for the Seahawks.

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

On the heels of a third down run stuff executed by the Seattle Seahawks defense to open overtime in Sunday's road opener against the New England Patriots, Geno Smith took the field with a chance to guide his team to a comeback victory in a hostile road environment.

If Smith looked comfortable in such a high-pressure situation, well, this wasn't his first rodeo under center for the Seahawks. Earning a reputation as one of the NFL's best quarterbacks in the clutch, the savvy veteran calmly marched the offense 71 yards on eight plays, completing five out of six passes for 42 yards and drawing a pass interference penalty on another 20-yard pass attempt to Tyler Lockett, setting the stage for Jason Myers to split the uprights on a 31-yard field goal to vault the team to a thrilling 23-20 overtime win in Foxboro and sole possession of first place in the NFC West.

"My mindset, put the ball in 7s hands. That's my mindset," Smith told reporters after the game. "I always dreamed about these moments growing up. It's a dream come true just to be here. Whenever I'm in this situation and the game is on the line, I'm so happy and just excited for those opportunities. I look forward to them actually. I know it's going to happen more and more times throughout the season. The best quarterbacks always find ways to win. I want to be regarded in that light, so I just want to continue to be there for my team, do what's right, make the plays when they come."

When it comes to coming through with the game on the line, few - if any - quarterbacks have been better than Smith dating back to the start of the 2022 season when he took over as Seattle's starter replacing the legendary Russell Wilson. During that span, following Sunday's latest heroics in overtime, he has engineered nine game-winning drives, the most in the NFL ahead of Bills star Josh Allen and Falcons starter Kirk Cousins.

As for fourth quarter comebacks in that time frame, only Cousins has fared better than Smith, who has orchestrated seven such comebacks, ironically tied with Wilson for the second-most in the league. Last season alone, Smith threw seven touchdown passes to give the Seahawks the lead in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most in a single season by a quarterback in NFL history.

What makes Smith's latest comeback all the more impressive, however, is the fact that he's thriving so early in a new offense coordinated by Ryan Grubb, looking as if he has played in the system for several years. He set a new career-high with 34 completions in Sunday's victory, throwing for 327 yards and a 56-yard touchdown to DK Metcalf, posting a stat line that would have been even better if not for five drops by receivers in the second half.

Even after those drops, including a bobbled catch attempt by Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a back shoulder throw that would have converted a 2nd and 20 into a first down in the fourth quarter, Smith's confidence in himself and his teammates never wavered. Demonstrating the poise expected of a team leader, he wasn't rattled by those previous miscues, masterfully maneuvering the pocket to buy himself time and throwing accurate footballs every time he dropped back to pass down the stretch.

"I think it's a credit to his approach in the offseason," coach Mike Macdonald said on his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710 on Monday. "This guy has absolutely grinded it out, just took this thing head on from the get go. Totally bought into the process, the new language, the reads, all the audibles, all the moving parts and moving and shifting, so I think Geno deserves a tremendous amount of the credit here on how he's playing. His work ethic is just tremendous and when you stack all those reps, you can play confidently and deliver the ball on time."

Now in his third season as Seattle's starter, Smith has gotten off to an excellent start in his courtship with Grubb despite dealing with injuries and inconsistent play once again along the offensive line. Through two weeks, he ranks fourth in completion rate (73.9 percent), sixth in yardage (498), and fifth in QBR (71.2). From an advanced metrics standpoint, Pro Football Focus hasn't charged him with a turnover worthy throw yet and he's one of only six quarterbacks with two or more touchdown passes traveling 20-plus yards through the air so far.

Most importantly, as he has done as well as any quarterback in the sport over the past few years, Smith has played his best football with the game on the line and craves those moments. Along with orchestrating the game-winning drive in overtime, he also marched the Seahawks 42 yards for a game-tying field goal at the end of regulation, completing four out of five passes for 39 yards to position Myers to send the game to overtime as the clock expired.

At this point, nobody should be surprised, and even Macdonald has grown to expect the quarterback to deliver in crucial moments only a few weeks into his tenure on the sidelines. While Wilson still stands out as the best quarterback in franchise history, Smith continues to build his own legacy with his penchant for shining in clutch moments, and with each game-winning drive he manufactures, his legend continues to grow in the Pacific Northwest.