Huard: 3 numbers show how well Seahawks’ Geno Smith is playing

The Seattle Seahawks have rebounded from an ugly Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in a big way, picking up back-to-back wins over the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers. A big reason for that has been the play of quarterback Geno Smith.

Rost on Seattle Seahawks: What’s a fair expectation for Jamal Adams’ return?

Smith, who was a Pro Bowler last year in his first season as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback, was one of the key topics former NFL quarterback Brock Huard discussed during the Blue 88 segment of Thursday’s Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports.

Specifically, Huard shared three numbers that illustrate how high of a level Smith is playing at so far this season.

“Through three games, zero. As in zero fumbles,” Huard said. “As in a priority to take care of the football. (He had) eight of them last year and lost four of them. This year, his ball security has been terrific and you have not seen the ball away from him. You have not seen him be a guy that puts the ball in harm’s way in the pocket at all.”

The second number related to Smith is notable because of who hasn’t played for the Seahawks these last two weeks.

“Through three games, he has been sacked five times. That is terrific,” Huard said. “That is winning football.”

The Seahawks’ offensive line is very beat up, as left tackle Charles Cross has missed the last two weeks with a toe injury while right tackle Abraham Lucas is on injured reserve with a knee injury. Seattle was also without starting right guard Phil Haynes last Sunday against Carolina.

“You stay on that kind of a streak, you’re going to be in the low-30s as far as sack total,” Huard said. “You’re going to knock off double-digits from sacks the year before. That’s winning football.”

The final number has to do with where Smith ranks among NFL quarterbacks this season.

“The last number is eight. When it comes to QB rating in QBR and QB efficiency, that’s where he sits right now (as a) top-10 quarterback,” Huard said. “Geno Smith is top-10 QBR, top-10 efficiency, takes care of the football.”

All those numbers added up could mean big things for the Seahawks this season.

“This team is going to be a playoff contender. And this team may very well, if he plays at that level and you get what you get out of Devon (Witherspoon) and you see something from Jamal (Adams), all of a sudden you’re going to be with Dallas as probably the third team in this NFC,” Huard said.

Listen to the full second hour of Thursday’s Brock and Salk at this link or in the player near the top of this story.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Bump: Seahawks should take page from Dolphins to get JSN going
• Huard: How Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon has already stood out
• An easy tweak to Seahawks’ offense that Bumpus wants to see
• Lefko: The unexpected boost to Seahawks’ path to NFC contender
• Seattle Seahawks Win: Carroll on what’s good, what still needs work

Follow @TheBGustafson