Geno Smith and the importance of second acts

Smith's incredible finish to Sunday's game was a reminder that – for all the importance of a franchise quarterback – NFL teams tend to be puzzlingly stupid about that position in one respect.

In the sixth minute of the second half Sunday in Glendale, Ariz., Geno Smith put some air under a screen pass he threw toward the sideline. Cardinal linebacker Zaven Collins stopped his rush off the edge, back-tracked and then picked off Smith’s pass and returned it for a touchdown that gave Arizona the lead. If there was a moment Smith’s bubble was going to pop, this was it.

Instead, Smith completed his first five pass attempts on the next possession, which turned out to be the first of three successive touchdown drives. He completed 10 of his final 12 passes in the game for 123 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 18 yards on a critical third-down conversion and ran for 12 yards on the next possession.

This was a statement victory not just because Seattle is 6-3 and proved itself a cut above an Arizona team that won 11 games last season. It showed Smith is a better quarterback right now than Kyler Murray, a former No. 1 overall pick who was signed to an extension that will pay him more than $100 million.

It was a reminder that – for all the importance of a franchise quarterback – NFL teams tend to be puzzlingly stupid in one respect.