Geno Smith gets NFL Spin Zone Player of the Week

New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith seems to save his best for last, and he played the best game of his young NFL career just before the GM who drafted him would receive the axe from owner Woody Johnson. Star wide receiver Eric Decker took advantage of Smith’s day to post a 221-yard outing after hauling in ten of the 11 targets sent his way, but I decided to give Smith the “Player of the Week” nod. After all, I did give Decker some lavish praise yesterday, so it’s only fair to take some time to praise Smith’s near-flawless performance against the rival Miami Dolphins to finish the season.

Smith completed 20 of 25 passes for 358 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions, and an insane 14.3 yards per attempt. That’s about as efficient as it gets, and he didn’t just hit up Decker. While the Jets No. 1 wideout was responsible for half of his completions and more than half of his yards, Smith spread the ball around effectively to the likes of Zach Sudfeld and Jeff Cumberland. It’s also never easy to put up a perfect 158.3 QB Rating on 25 attempts, especially against a defense like the Dolphins.

The second-year pro wasn’t pressured often by the Dolphins normally active defensive line (Randy Starks‘s sack was the lone hit on Smith), but he did excel when he was pressured, tossing two touchdowns and no interceptions with an average of 19.5 yards per attempt, per Pro Football Focus. We’ve never seen Smith play this well in his entire career, and it forces the next regime to at least consider using him as competition for their handpicked, hopeful franchise quarterback. Smith heads into the offseason in limbo with Idzik fired, but his huge Week 17 performance only confirms that he has the talent to lead a team; it doesn’t confirm that he has the consistency required out of a franchise quarterback.

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It’s hard to see how anyone else had a better Sunday than Geno Smith did, as he rose to the occasion in a game that had a bit more meaning than your usual battle between out-of-contention foes. He led his team to a 37-24 upset victory over a rival that once had playoff aspirations, and he did it in just about flawless fashion. If the Jets can find a complement to Decker and a franchise quarterback, then they could field a legit offense next season. Most people won’t believe that Geno is the guy, but his incredible performance to cap off the season has left some wondering if new coaching and another wide receiver can help him get it done.

One more reason to praise Smith’s performance against the Dolphins is the fact that he did it without a consistent running game. In the Jets loss to the Dolphins earlier this season, they gave the ‘Fins a run for their money by consistently pounding the ball against their AFC East rivals’s front seven. Chris Ivory had a meager 29 yards on 13 carries and Chris Johnson was even more efficient, so it was up to the passing attack to propel the Jets to victory. Aside from his fumble, Smith’s execution was excellent, and he was a perfect 5-5 with plenty of yardage on deep throws, showing off his impressive deep ball.

Everyone has to be careful not to take too much out of one fantastic game, because the questions surrounding Smith are about consistency, as opposed to his ability to have a huge performance here or there. He’ll probably get a shot to compete for the starting job in 2015, but giving him anything beyond that would probably be too much. That said, he hasn’t even been in the league for three years, so it wouldn’t be fair to toss him on the scrap heap either, especially since he has shown some flashes- none bigger than this one.

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