Brock and Salk: What we learned about Seahawks’ QB situation

Dec 16, 2024, 1:32 PM

Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell carries the ball against the Packers during a 2024 game. (Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

(Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

BY ZAC HERETH

Seattle Sports

Sam Howell’s first extended look in a Seattle Seahawks uniform wasn’t what he or the team was looking for.

Seattle Seahawks make statement in primetime – just the wrong one

Howell came in to relieve injured quarterback Geno Smith during the third quarter of Sunday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers. Things started poorly for the third-year quarterback and never got any better.

Howell was sacked four times and completed just 5 of 14 passes for 29 yards and an interception as Seattle’s offense sputtered late with a chance to pull within one score. According to ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak, Howell became just the 20th quarterback over the past 25 years to complete five passes or less with at least 19 dropbacks, and the first since the 2022 season.

“I’ve got to be better,” Howell said after the game. “My job is to be ready to go in there to play well and help this team win, and I didn’t do that today. So I just got to be better and watch the film and learn from it.”

Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Monday discussed what they learned about the Seahawks’ quarterback situation after watching Howell get his first real look in the regular season.

“He did not look ready for primetime, unfortunately, and it was a factor in that game,” co-host Mike Salk said. “We got to see sort of the downside of Geno, but he never got the opportunity to show the other side of the whole gunslinger thing, which is sometimes he’ll make a horrific mistake and then just throw his way out of it. We didn’t get the opportunity to see that because he was hurt by the time the fourth quarter started.”

Smith’s big mistake came in the second quarter with the Seahawks trailing 20-3 but threatening to score in the red zone. After a dropped interception bailed him out on second down, he forced another pass into a covered area that was picked off to end the scoring threat. The two-play sequence was rough, but Smith was his efficient self otherwise, completing 15 of 19 passes for 149 yards.

“We got to see him push the ball down the field and got to hear (NBC color commentator Cris) Collinsworth rave about his arm and watching him practice in the rain,” co-host and former NFL quarterback Brock Huard said. “And this guy can absolutely let it rip. To your point, when he makes one of those boneheaded mistakes, all season long he’s really returned with fire and vigor and made up for it and compensated. Did not get that chance (against Green Bay), obviously.”

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, Howell wasn’t able to replicate the late-game heroics Smith has shown during his time in the Pacific Northwest.

“This isn’t just ‘Rip Sam Howell Day.’ As I said, that’s a hard position to come in,” Huard said. “Do you know what his QBR was on a scale of one to 100? He had a QBR of 3.3. It’s really difficult to see that.”

Salk believes Howell’s performance showed just how much Smith’s abilities affect the functionality of the Seahawks’ offense.

“I think it is very clear that Geno is helping this team function. There’s no doubt Geno is a functional quarterback,” Salk said. “He is making the offensive line look better. He is helping with his decisiveness because Sam Howell was the opposite of that. He was indecisive and the game was moving too fast for him, and that’s not Geno.

“But I would caution anyone to take from that game, ‘Hey, look, Geno is incredible because look what happens when he went out,'” Salk added. “I don’t think comparing Geno Smith to Sam Howell is the best way to show his greatness. It’s a great way to show that he’s better than a backup quarterback. I don’t think I needed convincing on that.”

Head coach Mike Macdonald told Brock and Salk on Monday morning that he had been exchanging text messages with Smith and that the starting quarterback was “optimistic” about his injury. Smith was scheduled to have more imaging done on his knee Monday.

If Smith ends up being unable to play in Seattle’s next game against the Minnesota Vikings, Huard believes things should go a bit better for Howell.

“I think it helps him tremendously over the course of the week,” said Huard when asked how a full week to prepare with No. 1 reps would affect Howell. “… Like most NFL teams, you may get some walk-through stuff, but he’s not getting many of the live, full-speed reps. So the game should hopefully slow down for him.”

“He’s 24, by the way,” Huard added. “Sam Howell is younger than (rookie quarterbacks) Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. He is a young dude, and he got sped up last year in Washington and got a little broken and got traded here and, unfortunately, in his first outing was just not able to function.”

Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.