National Football League

Should Geno Smith's showing inspire hope for Seattle?

Updated Sep. 13, 2022 2:44 p.m. ET

It was the quote of the night. And just maybe, it will be the quote of the season.

"They wrote me off. I ain't write back, though."

Seahawks' quarterback Geno Smith was feeling himself Monday night. And rightfully so.

The 31-year-old quarterback, who's currently at his fourth stop in six years, began the 2022 campaign with a resounding bang, stopping former Seahawks Super Bowl signal-caller Russell Wilson from exacting vengeance against his old troupe in a nail-biting 17-16 win.

Smith's passing accuracy played a large part in the win. He missed the mark on just five of his attempts, completing a stellar 23 of his 28 throws for 195 yards and two TDs — the only instances his team found the end zone all night.

"As far as worrying about naysayers, anything like that, I don’t get into that type of stuff," Smith said Monday night. "People can write you off, but life is about what you make it, and so I’ve just been blessed enough to be in the NFL for 10 years, and been working my butt off, and it’s a team game, and we got to win tonight as a team."

Granted, Seattle's defense played a central role in its winning effort as well. The legion held steadfast on two separate red zone occasions, forcing fumbles at the goal line and holding the Broncos' new-look offense to just one TD.

But Smith was the star of the show, and his first performance of the season was a glimmer of hope for Seahawks fans who've been starved for success since Wilson's heyday.

"He just hasn’t had the perfect opportunity for him to go out there and showcase what he really is able to do when he’s in full control of a football team or of an offense," Seattle wide receiver DK Metcalf said of Smith after Monday's win.

But not everyone was sold.

"The Carton Show's" Craig Carton cautioned the "12th Man" to hold its horses before putting substantial stock into Smith.

"Geno Smith? We're talking about Geno Smith like he's the Second Coming of a good quarterback?! He's not. In the second half of last night's game, Geno Smith accounted for 31 yards, and the Seahawks got shut out. Now, if he was the Jets quarterback — which he used to be — yeah, that's a great half of football! But he's no longer the Jets quarterback.

"I don't know if I see the world and sports just differently than everybody else, but I think I do, because this coronation of Geno Smith's play … it wasn't very good. Was he connecting the dots pretty well in the first half? Yeah, but he threw for 31 yards in the second half in a one-point game, and they got shut out. You have to stop the nonsense with Geno Smith being a good quarterback!"