The Seattle Seahawks are preparing for their toughest test so far of the 2024 season. On Monday night they'll be facing the NFC powerhouse Detroit Lions for a rematch of last year's thrilling matchup, a 37-31 overtime victory for the visiting Seahawks. The year before Seattle also took home a win in a shootout on the road with the Lions, taking down Detroit 48-45 in October of 2022.
The common denominator for both games was an impressive performance from Seahawks starting quarterback Geno Smith. In last year's contest he went off for 328 passing yards, two touchdowns and an 83.3 QBR, his second-best mark of the season. The year before Smith put up 320 yards, two scores and a 91.4 QBR, which was his best of the season.
Therefore, it's not hard to imagine Smith putting up another big game against the Lions this week. Former NFL quarterback and current NFL.com analyst David Carr is predicting Smith goes off against Detroit again, this time for an even bigger number.
David Carr on Geno Smith, Seahawks
"The Seahawks prove their 3-0 start isn't a fluke with offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and Geno Smith showcasing their new passing attack in Detroit on Monday Night Football. The veteran quarterback tosses four touchdown passes -- with DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba all getting in on the action -- to lead the 'Hawks to an upset win over the Lions, making Seattle 4-0 for the first time since 2020."
This all sounds good in theory, and based on the way Smith has played indoors in his career and how the series has gone between these two teams (Seattle is 13-5 against Detroit all-time) we think Carr is right, both about the final result and Smith having a strong line.
Aidan Hutchinson x-factor for Seahawks-Lions
One potential hiccup in this whole picture is Seattle's pass protection, which has been a major liability so far this season. While Smith is doing an awesome job of avoiding it, the pressure has seemingly gotten to him more than it did the last couple of years. Smith heads into Week 4 with a 3/3 touchdown/interception ratio and has taken eight sacks already after taking just 31 sacks the entire 2023 season.
The most-crucial matchup to watch there will be Detroit's superstar pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson going up against Seattle's third-string right tackle Stone Forsythe. Presumably offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will have tight ends and running backs on that side to help Forsythe out, but it may not be enough. Hutchinson leads the NFL with 6.5 sacks going into this week.
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