Geno Smith Flashes Arm, Legs in Seahawks Season Opening Win

It wasn’t always pretty, but Geno Smith still managed to lead the Seahawks to a 1-0 start to the 2024 season. Seattle beat the Denver Broncos 26-20 on Sunday after an overcoming a rough first half.

Smith completed 18-of-25 passes for only 171 yards through the air, but did add 30 more on the ground. The 33-year-old Smith, who is now in the midst of his 10th NFL season, scored two touchdowns – one with his arm and one big 34-yard score with his legs.

GENO with the Wheels 💨💨#Big12FB & NFL Sundays are back.@WVUfootball 🤝 @Seahawks pic.twitter.com/Jjbj8Ecfcm

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 8, 2024

Smith is well aware of the importance of the 2024 season, both for his own personal career and also the future of the Seahawks as a franchise.

In an interview with the NFL Network’s Taylor Bisciotti, Smith talked about his role to help guide the Seahawks as the franchise embarks on a new era with a new head coach.

“It’s been awesome. Coach (Mike) Macdonald, he’s the best, man. He’s putting his stamp on the team. We’re flying around. We are working, we are getting the job done that we need to get done. We have got to win for him. I think everyone has bought in. We are ready to go out there and put on a show,” said Smith about his first camp experience with Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald.

Macdonald was hired by Seattle after the moving on from longtime coach Pete Carroll in January.

Smith even used the phrase “iron sharpens iron” to describe going up against his team’s defense in practice.

Smith finished the 2023 season with 3,624 passing yards, 21 total touchdowns and nine interceptions. Smith also completed 64.7% of his passes in 15 games. Smith’s efforts earned him a Pro Bowl invitation for the second straight year. In 2022, Smith won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award with over 4,000 passing yards and 30 touchdowns.

Even though Smith’s 2023 season was a drop in production and success from his remarkable comeback story of the year before, Smith still kept the Seahawks in playoff contention until the last week of the regular season.

In typical Geno Smith fashion, he kept his season in perspective after the season finale despite missing the playoffs.

“Circumstances shouldn’t dictate your mood or your effort. We fight no matter what,” Smith said after Seattle’s 21-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Smith was responding to a question about how he stayed motivated after learning his team no longer had a chance to return to the postseason.

For a related story, Geno Smith expressed his love for his fellow WVU legend Tavon Austin after he announced his retirement.

Find more coverage of Geno Smith at WV Sports Now.