As we reach the “halfway” point of a great National Football League (NFL) season so far, there have been multiple storylines to discuss, along with some predictions to be made as well. Players like Christian McCaffery, Bradley Chubb, T.J. Hockenson, Roquan Smith, Kadarius Toney, and James Robison were all traded during the trade deadline.
One of the biggest storylines, the man who was written off, but didn’t write back, Geno Smith. Smith, after being drafted in the second round by the Jets, has mostly bounced around the league as a backup. Smith was with the Jets from 2013 to 2016, the Giants in 2017, the Chargers in 2018, and has been with the Seahawks since 2019. After former Seahawks franchise quarterback (QB) Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos in the offseason, many wondered who would be the starter for Seattle. Most thought it would be Drew Lock, who the Seahawks received as part of the package for Russell Wilson. However, head coach Pete Carrol decided Geno Smith would be the starter. Carrol was criticized for this, as most thought the Seahawks would be one of the worst teams in the league and that they should start the younger quarterback.
The Seahawks opened the season at home against the Broncos, who their former franchise QB was now playing for. Geno had an amazing game in the opener. In a 17-16 upset over the Broncos, Geno went 23-28 for 195 yards and two touchdowns. After the win, in an interview with ESPN’s Lis Salters, Smith said, “They wrote me off, I ain’t write back though.” Ever since then Geno has been a borderline top five quarterback this season. Geno is currently leading the NFL in completion percentage, completing 72.8% of his passes. Smith is also fourth in touchdown to interception ratio, with a 4.25, as Smith currently has 17 touchdowns to only 4 interceptions. The Seahawks as a team are playing efficiently under Smith, as they currently sit atop the NFC (National Football Conference)West division at 6-4, and are currently 5th in team points per game at 25.7. The Seahawks were projected by almost all analysts to finish near the bottom of the NFC. Due to Geno’s play however, it looks like they could make the playoffs.
My award predictions are: MVP (Most Valuable Player): Patrick Mahomes, OPOY (Offensive Player of the Year): Tyreek Hill, (Defensive POTY) DPOY: Micah Parsons, OROY (Offensive Rookie of the Year): Kenneth Walker III, DROY: Sauce Gardner, COTY (Coach of the Year): Brian Daboll, CPOTY(COmeback Player of the Year): Geno Smith. My Super Bowl pick is Chiefs-Eagles.
The Bills have started to slide over the last couple of weeks, with Josh Allen throwing six interceptions and fumbled twice in the last three games. The Bills also have suffered key injuries on both sides of the ball, such as Jordan Poyer, Gregory Rousseau, Kaiir Elam, and Josh Allen. The offense has not scored a second half touchdown in three straight weeks as well. The Bills beat the Chiefs earlier in the season 24-20, but with how things look right now, I think Kansas City would get the better of them if they faced each other in the playoffs. Kansas City’s offense improves more and more every week, and their defense has played fairly solid thus far.
The Eagles don’t have much competition in the NFC. The Vikings, who are currently the second seed, lost to the Eagles 24-7 earlier in the year. The Eagles run defense has been terrible the last few weeks due to the loss of rookie DT Jordan Davis, giving up 168 yards on the ground against the Texans, and 152 to the Commanders. However, once Davis returns, I expect the run defense to regain its footing. The offense knows their identity, and Hurts has improved drastically. Hurts has averaged a 61.8% completion percentage for his career. Hurts on the season has completed 67.9% of his passes. Hurts has the Eagles sitting at 8-1 so far, and in a weak NFC, looking poised to make a deep playoff run.
I believe the Chiefs would beat the Eagles 31-28 in the Super Bowl. It will be a close game the whole way, and it seems clear whoever has the ball last will win. I believe Mahomes will have the ball in his hands last, and lead a game winning drive in the last two minutes of the game. There is no quarterback I trust more than Mahomes. Mahomes is the clear cut number one quarterback for me. Other QBs will have a fantastic 5-6 week stretch, then won’t play as consistent as they had been. Mahomes is the outlier of all outliers. While Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and a few others are all great, Mahomes is on another level compared to every other quarterback. He is the great equalizer. The Chiefs win games they have no business winning, especially in games when they are down by 10 or more points. Mahomes has a .539% win percentage when down by 10 or more points, and a .786% win percentage overall. It is impossible for me to bet against Mahomes, it’s like betting against Tom Brady; the two will always find a way to beat you, no matter what the circumstances are.
Overall the season has been extremely entertaining, and with eight weeks left, there are certainly more great games and storylines to come.
