Commentary: Reaching playoffs would give Geno Smith’s comeback story proper ending

SEATTLE – There’s a difference between stories that die three hours after you tell your buddies at the bar and ones destined for your grandchildren’s ears.

There’s a distinction between tales that make passersby smile and ones that make screenwriters salivate.

As it stands, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith is in limbo between a comeback that is admired by the present and one that will be noted by posterity. If you’re fully invested in No. 7’s 10-year navigation through the NFL’s tumult, then Seattle must make the playoffs for you to experience the payoff.

For typical Seahawks fans, it doesn’t matter who is behind center as their 8-8 team enters the final week of the season needing a win over the Rams and a Packers loss to the Lions to reach the postseason. Given that most sportsbooks projected only two teams to win fewer games than Seattle this season, the fact that the Seahawks have any chance at all to extend their season is noteworthy.

But Smith’s stellar play helped spark hope among the 12s that this is a playoff team – something that seemed inevitable in early November when the Seahawks were 6-3.

He wasn’t just the replacement for Russell Wilson that fans were going to have to accept, he became an improvement over Wilson that fans fully embraced.

Smith, who enters Sunday’s game with a 70.2 completion percentage, has a chance to become the first player in franchise history to finish the season at 70% or higher (Wilson holds the record at 68.8%.)

Smith’s 4,069 passing yards are 150 yards short of Wilson’s season mark, and his 380 completions are four below Wilson’s. If you’re thinking what everybody else is thinking on a couple of those stats, worry not – Smith is, too.

“I heard about (the records). It’s a 17-game season. I don’t know if you should count some of that stuff,” Smith said. “If guys did it in 16 games, I’ve got an extra game. … I’m not really focused on that.”

So what is Smith focused on?

“I just want to go out there and play a really solid game and go out there and get a win, so that we can give ourselves a shot.”

Smith’s refrain throughout the season has been “playoffs.” Ask him about an individual accolade, he’ll usually deflect and emphasize making the playoffs. Ask him about team success, and he’ll put a trip to the postseason at the forefront of the discussion.

An 18th game typically is the defining characteristic between the NFL’s haves and have-nots, which makes getting there something Smith has got to have.

But even if he’s not thinking about what it would mean for him individually – and his consistency in rerouting individual-based questions is convincing that he’s not – it would be significant for NFL lore.

There just aren’t any quarterback stories quite like Smith’s. The closest is that of Rich Gannon, who was a fourth-round draft pick who spent five years as a backup before winning league MVP with the Raiders in 2002.

But Smith was a second-round selection who, unlike Gannon, started immediately before being relegated to a backup role for seven seasons. He was seen as no more than a placeholder going into this season, then won NFC Offensive Player of the Month for October and earned his first Pro Bowl nod.

That said … he has been on somewhat of a slide the past seven games, during which Seattle has gone 2-5. And as a result, he has gone from the runaway front-runner for NFL Comeback Player of the Year to someone nearly tied with 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, according to oddsmakers.

A true comeback means coming all the way back – not most of the way. And a playoff berth would solidify Smith’s return-from-obscurity success story.

Does the success of this season ultimately come down to whether you guys make the playoffs? Smith was asked Thursday.

“I don’t think that measures it, but that’s the goal. It’s got to be your goal,” said Smith, perhaps giving himself and his team some leeway if the Packers keep them out of the postseason.

“You can talk about all of the accolades you want, but it comes down to what we do as a team to determine our success.”

What Geno does Sunday will likely determine his team’s success. And his team moving onto the playoffs will likely determine his legacy as a comeback player for the ages.

Lot on the line for the Seahawks this weekend. Just as much on the line for Geno’s reputation.