Quarterback comparisons

Geno Smith led the Raiders to a touchdown on their opening drive of their Week 1 game against New England.

This was something that he failed to do in Seattle last season when the Seahawks were one of three teams in the league that never scored a touchdown on their opening possession.

The Raiders’ second drive, however, ended in an interception as Smith’s pass for tight end Brock Bowers was tipped by a Patriots cornerback and then caught by a safety. Las Vegas didn’t score again in the half, missing a field goal on the final play of the second quarter.

That first half was Exhibit A for why I wasn’t all that worried about the Seahawks decision to move on from Smith.

Yes, he could look great in spots, in large part because of his confidence in attempting difficult throws. That confidence made him prone to back-breaking mistakes, though, and while he got Seattle to the cusp of the playoffs last season, his turnovers wound up being a prime reason the Seahawks didn’t win the games that would have put them in the postseason.

In the second half, however? Smith was good enough to make me wonder if Seattle will end up regretting the inability to re-sign him.

Smith was 13-for-15 passing for 222 yards, leading three scoring drives of more than 50 yards.

As for Sam Darnold? I thought he played fine though he wasn’t given much in the way of opportunities. Seattle was true to its word about running the ball. The Seahawks were one of six teams in the league with more rushing plays than pass plays in Week 1.

The two times the Seahawks let him step on the gas, he did, leading a scoring drive in the final minute of the first half and putting Seattle in position to score the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

That was markedly better than what another former Seahawks quarterback, and while New York isn’t blaming Russell Wilson for the Giants’ inability to score a touchdown, he’s not seen as the solution, either: an afterthought in New York.