RENTON — Geno Smith and Rashaad Penny may be the perfect representations of the team they play for.
Just as the 2022 Seahawks were largely given up for dead following the trade of Russell Wilson after a decade as one of the NFL’s powers, so, too, were Smith and Penny each recently considered as little more than afterthoughts despite entering the league as high draft picks with high expectations.
But as Smith and Penny continued to revive their careers last Sunday in leading the Seahawks to a 48-45 win in Detroit, so, too, did they continue to breathe life into Seattle’s season.
Each had days as good as any they’d had before.
Smith — the 39th overall pick in 2013 and immediately entrusted that year with starting for the New York Jets — completed 23-of-30 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 49 yards and another score.
Penny, Seattle’s first-round pick in 2018, rushed for 151 yards and touchdowns of 41 and 36 yards in the second half as the Seahawks held on.
But that was against a Lions team whose defense is off to an historically bad start, having allowed 141 point — the most through four games of any in NFL history — also allowing 6.5 yards per play, more than any team in the league other than Seattle’s 6.7.
A tougher test for each comes Sunday in New Orleans against the Saints, who are 1-3 but appear to have one of the better defenses in the NFL, allowing just 5.0 yards per play.
But with the way Smith and Penny have played over the last 12 months or so, the Seahawks are beginning to win over doubters. Smith, certainly, seems to be hoping he is silencing them for good, which another strong performance against the Saints might do.
As the completions have piled up for Smith — his 77.3% rate is the best of any quarterback in NFL history through four games — so have the questions about whether Smith is surprised by his success given his eight-year gap in winning a starting job to open a season.
Smith, who a year ago this time was a backup who hadn’t taken a snap as a starter since 2017, responded to a question along those lines this week by asking the questioner if he was surprised, too, and that the only reason he would be is “because you never watched me throw.’’
So it may be time to color Smith as officially unsurprised by his career resurgence at age 31.
Similarly, Penny a year ago was recovering from yet another injury, this one to his calf, having played just six games the previous two years.
But Sunday, he got his ninth straight start, finally appearing to shed for good any of the doubts about his durability. He’s had five games of 135 yards or more in that nine-game stint, in which he’s rushed 161 times for 998 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per carry.
It’s a stretch that has seemed to officially validate what Seattle saw in taking him as the second running back selected in 2018 after Saquon Barkley went second overall.
“I felt like I let people down as far as being hurt all of the time, not making it to Sundays and not showing my true potential because I really know what I can do,’’ Penny said this week, reflecting on earlier in his career. “I feel like they drafted me here for a reason and I feel like I can give a lot when I’m healthy.
“That’s just one thing, health, and I always tried to stay on top of that, but it’s hard. As an NFL player, I’m getting hit by guys that are 300 pounds. Safeties tackling at knees, it’s not easy to stay healthy. I thank God when I come out of the game every day now. I’m just thankful that I am healthy’’
So are the Seahawks, who put much of their faith in being able to surprise those such as Sports Illustrated, who predicted Seattle would go 3-14.
What Seattle couldn’t have known is that they would need the offense to perform at an almost otherworldly level to make up for a defense that with each week grows increasingly worrisome — Detroit gained 525 yards last week despite being without its leading receiver and rusher and a Pro Bowl offensive lineman.
As they did after a 27-23 loss to Atlanta two weeks ago, Seahawks coaches spent the week professing faith in the team’s new 3-4 defense while saying they would continue to try to refine it to fit the personnel — as well as tinker with the personnel itself.
That Seattle will face New Orleans backup QB Andy Dalton — instead of starter Jameis Winston — and miss injured wide receiver Michael Thomas, might bode well. But running back Alvin Kamara, who led New Orleans to a 13-10 win over the Seahawks in Seattle last October with 128 yards receiving on 10 receptions and a touchdown, is expected to play after sitting out last week with a rib injury.
Seattle enters the game as a 5.5-point underdog. But the Seahawks have been favored only once this year, by a point over Atlanta, winning twice outright already as underdogs (Denver and Detroit), a role they seem to thrive in, even if it’s one they aren’t sure they deserve.
“Well if my expectations were low, then I would be (surprised to be 2-2),’’ Carroll said this week. “But my expectations are as high as you can get them, so I don’t feel like that. I feel like we got to get it right and play up to where we are capable of playing. We have better football in us.’’