From The Athletic's Derrik Klassen
QB charting: Geno Smith
Geno Smith was almost perfect Sunday. That is not hyperbole. On a day when he had to drop back more than 40 times, Smith simply did not miss.Smith finished Sunday’s game with a completion percentage of 75.0. That’s insane on its own, but when you remove Smith’s spike to stop the clock at the end of the half and factor in some of the drops, Smith’s numbers almost look fake. Smith was accurate on 38 of 43 passes against the New England Patriots, good for a preposterous 88.4 percent accuracy rating.

It’s hard to know where to start with a performance like that, but we’ll go with open-window throws. Smith missed one of his 32 throws to open targets. One! And, really, that “miss” was kind of wishy-washy — the only “miss” I charted was a shallow route thrown to tight end Noah Fant that was a smidgen high and behind the target. A miss, to be sure, but at least it was catchable.
Smith hit on 50 percent on his eight tight-window throws, but that doesn’t tell the full story. Aside from one forced pass over the middle of the field, all of Smith’s tight-window “misses” were just contested vertical routes. Sometimes a guy takes a shot and it’s not there — that’s all it was for Smith. He didn’t miss on any of the four tight-window throws he attempted to the intermediate area of the field.
Accuracy has been a hallmark of Smith’s game since he took over in Seattle. He can make all the throws and we know that by now, but what stands out from Sunday’s game are all his situational splits:
Smith's Week 2 numbers
Comp. | Att. | TDs | WR Adj. | PD | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 38 (4 drops) | 43 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Under pressure | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Out of pocket | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
5-plus pass rushers | 13 (2 drops) | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Man coverage | 12 (2 drops) | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Zone coverage | 23 (2 drops) | 25 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Tight-window throws | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Open-window throws | 31 (3 drops) | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Blitzes didn’t trip up Smith one bit. Not once did he look rattled by the Patriots’ pressure packages. He found the immediate answer when it was there and scrambled to make a throw on the move when it wasn’t. On 15 plays with at least five rushers sent his way, Smith was accurate on all but one throw — a vertical shot to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on second down in overtime.
Smith was flat out dominant. I do not care that the Seahawks only put 23 points on the board. That’s a fierce New England defense on the other side that makes you work for every single yard and score.
A merely above-average performance from Smith wouldn’t have been enough to win that game. Smith had to go nuclear, and he did.