Seahawks 2024 Grade Card: How Did Geno Smith, QBs Perform?

Though the Seattle Seahawks ultimately missed the playoffs in year one under coach Mike Macdonald, Geno Smith broke two of his own single-season franchise records under center, continuing to play solid football despite not-so-ideal circumstances around him.

How did Smith perform in his third year as a starter for Seattle? And what can be gleaned from Sam Howell's minimal playing time in his first season with the organization?

Revisiting the 2024 campaign with statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus, here's a look at what went right, what went wrong, and a final grade for Seahawks quarterbacks:

What Went Right

Despite being pressured at a 38.5 percent rate, second behind only Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, Smith finished tied for sixth with 11 Big Time Throws and third in completion rate (56.8 percent) when under duress. Masterfully working the pocket behind a shaky offensive line, he posted a respectable 19.9 pressure to sack ratio, consistently working his way out of would-be sacks for the defense.

Letting the pigskin fly in now former coordinator Ryan Grubb's pass-centric system, Smith remained one of the NFL's most proficient deep ball throwers, finishing third in Big Time Throws (22) traveling more than 20 yards through the air while ranking in the top five in yardage (879), completion rate (46.2), and touchdowns (nine) on such passes. He also ranked in the top five for lowest turnover worthy play rate (3.8 percent) on deep balls.

Holistically, Smith's accuracy stood out compared to his peers, as he became only the 20th quarterback in NFL history to finish a full season with a completion rate north of 70 percent and broke his own franchise record for precision in the process. From an advanced metrics standpoint, he finished fourth in NFL Next Gen Stats' Completion Above Expectation (5.6 percent).

Aside from his elite accuracy, Smith ranked in the top six among quarterbacks in Big Time Throws (28), passing yardage (4,320), and first down completions (222) in spite of being pressured on a league-worst 251 drop backs this season. He also engineered four game-winning drives and four fourth quarter comebacks, ranking in the top five in both categories.

Though he didn't utilize his legs as much as many other quarterbacks do, Smith continued to be effective when tasked with making plays as a runner. Averaging a healthy 5.1 yards per carry, he ranked 11th among signal callers with 14 runs of 10 or more yards while contributing 256 of his 272 yards as a scrambler, doing the majority of his damage when pass plays broke down rather than on designed quarterback run concepts.

What Went Wrong

Lacking a complementary run game for most of the season in addition to subpar pass protection, Smith struggled with turnovers throughout the year, finishing third behind Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield with 15 interceptions. An NFL-worst five of those picks came in the red zone, including a back-breaking pick six in a Week 9 home loss to the Rams, playing a key role in the Seahawks ending the season ranked a dreadful 28th in goal to go touchdown percentage.

With that high interception total, Smith barely eclipsed his 20 touchdown pass production from 2022, needing a four touchdown performance in the season finale to get to 21 on the season, which tied with Kyler Murray for the 13th most in the league. Per Pro Football Reference, his 3.6 percent touchdown rate per 100 passes ranked 31st among qualified quarterbacks, barely ahead of the likes of Jaguars backup Mac Jones and Raiders backup Aidan O'Connell.

When Smith missed most of the second half against the Packers, Howell played like a deer in the headlights, staring down receivers and holding onto the ball way too long in the pocket. As a result, albeit entering the game in a challenging situation trailing by multiple scores, he completed five out of 14 passes for 24 yards with an ugly interception while taking four sacks, creating questions about his validity as a backup moving forward.

Final Grade: B

While he didn't quite reach his breakout numbers from 2022 in some regards, Smith enjoyed another stellar season even with pass protection consistently failing in front of him and the run game regularly becoming an afterthought with Grubb at the controls. As Macdonald pointed out after the season concluded, his high interception totals aren't acceptable and both he and the quarterback will be doing work behind the scenes to figure out how to avoid a repeat in 2025.

With that said, Smith's interception issues have to be taken with context in a one-dimensional scheme that did little to help him. 13 of those 15 picks came while under duress, and he finished the season with the fifth-lowest pressure rate credited to him as a quarterback (eight percent), indicating that those results were largely a consequence of an offensive line that functioned like a turnstile allowing defenders to penetrate the pocket with ease rather than him holding onto the ball too long.

The critical red zone miscues put a damper on Smith's overall performance, but considering how frequently he found himself being harassed by pass rushers, the fact that he managed to finish in the top five in passing yardage and completion rate deserves applause. A strong argument can be made that no quarterback did a better job of doing more with less, which should factor greatly into the decision making on his future in Seattle.

As for Howell, in his defense, it's difficult to make much of an assessment based off of two quarters of regular season action. But he didn't have a strong training camp or preseason either, and with him entering the final year of his rookie contract, that dismal showing against the Packers could put his status as Smith's backup in limbo with the offseason approaching.