Geno Smith has not regressed in the second half

At the peak of the season, Geno Smith was king of the NFL and the Seattle Seahawks were on top.

Now, they struggle to play, we struggle to watch, and the Seahawks have slipped down the standings at a brutally consistent pace.

But for all their faults, it’s not because Geno Smith regressed.

A month in, Geno Smith was the second best quarterback in the NFL by DVOA. After three straight losses including Sunday to the Kansas City Chiefs? He’s sixth.

So while Allen and Mahomes may no longer “bow at the altar of Geno”, he has now - with only two games remaining - officially held up for an entire season.

Smith’s DVOA and Yards Above Replacement are better than Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, or Trevor Lawrence. All quarterbacking playoff teams at the moment.

Geno’s also fifth in total QBR this season. But the rest of his numbers hold up across the season as well, remarkably so:

First eight games: 13 TD to 3 INT, 19 sacks, 1924 yards, 72.7% completion

The next seven games: 14 TD to 6 INT, 20 sacks, 1962 yards, 68.82% completion.

And yet, after the Seahawks fell off a cliff in the second half of the season, perspective on Geno Smith has seemingly shifted a bit.

Geno Smith is a better quarterback - right now, than Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Lamar Jackson (given injury struggles this season). Smith’s also got a far greater future outlook than Brady or Garoppolo, and Jackson’s higher ceiling fraught with injury concerns.

Smith vanished from the media spotlight as quickly as he arrived, but the fact remains: he Seattle Seahawks have lost eight games this season even with Geno Smith playing at an elite level.

I cannot imagine what this season would have been like with Russell Wilson.

So to the Drew Lock crowd, the first-round draft pick crowd, the Jordan Love crowd or any others looking to improve the team next year, Geno Smith is not the problem.