Jim Moore: These Seahawks could be one of the best storylines in Seattle sports history

Are you still skeptical? Do you think the Seahawks will suddenly go from surprisingly good to the trash team they were expected to be? Think that Geno Smith will start playing like the journeyman backup he’s always been? Or that the defense can’t possibly keep playing like this?

I admit to being cynical about almost everything, but with the Seahawks I’m finding it might just be OK to let my guard down and enjoy what could end up being one of the best storylines in Seattle sports history. Is that overhyping what’s happening? Maybe, but you could just as easily say maybe not.

This team was supposed to finish last in the division, yet they’re first in the NFC West at 5-3. Smith was supposed to be anywhere from terrible to marginal, yet here he is, an MVP candidate.

They were supposed to win five or six games max, and now 10 wins seems possible, as does a playoff berth.

And Pete Carroll, for as good as he’s been, was supposed to be done as a head coach, a 71-year-old whose best years were behind him.

“All the people (who say) you run the ball too much, you don’t understand football, you can’t stay up with the new game,” Carroll said after Sunday’s 27-13 win over the Giants. “That’s a bunch of crap. Cuz look, we’re doing fine.”

If I’m a coach of any team anywhere, I’m using the Seahawks as an example for my players, of what can happen with complete buy-in and belief.

“It’s amazing what we can accomplish when nobody cares who gets the credit,” said Tyler Lockett, who fumbled inside the Seahawks’ 5-yard line and dropped a certain touchdown reception. But he bounced back to make a 33-yard, go-ahead touchdown grab in the fourth quarter after being consoled and encouraged by Smith and Carroll on the sideline.

In the past when Carroll got overly excited, the cynical side of me would think: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, coach, come on man, dial it down a bit.”

But this season I watch him and think: “Good for him. How rewarding it must be to prove the doubters wrong. Go ahead and dance and run into side judges and draw a penalty if you want, coach, I’d be laughing my butt off too.”

And Geno? Good Lord, what a crazy turn of events. He’s making $3 million this year but has played well enough this season to warrant a contract extension for an average of anywhere from $20 million to $30 million a year.

If you truly believe that all good things must come to an end, you haven’t looked at the Seahawks’ schedule or the teams that are ahead of them in the NFC. In the next month, they face the 3-5 Cardinals in Glendale on Sunday, the 3-5 Buccaneers in Germany on Nov. 13th and after a bye, the 2-5 Raiders at Lumen Field on Nov. 27th. It’s reasonable to expect them to emerge from that stretch at 7-4.

By then maybe the unbeaten Eagles will have finally lost a game. The 6-1 Vikings can’t possibly keep that up, can they? And the Cowboys at 6-2? Sure, they look to be slightly better than the Seahawks right now, but that could change in the second half of the season.

Point being, along with the 6-2 Giants, those are the Seahawks’ main competitors in the NFC. If they were in the AFC, I wouldn’t think they’d have a shot at the Super Bowl since they’d have to get past the Bills and the Chiefs.

Plus everyone seems to think the 49ers are the favorites to win the NFC West after acquiring Christian McCaffrey, but they’re 1-1 with him after beating the Rams on Sunday. The Rams don’t look like Super Bowl champions anymore, and the Cardinals are erratic, projecting to be an 8-9 team at best.

Tell me what I’m missing. I see a Seahawks team with a good — perhaps even great — quarterback, good running game, improving offensive line, more than adequate tight ends and terrific receivers. On the other side of the ball, the defense has made an amazing turnaround in the past three weeks, suggesting that it’s more permanent than temporary. They’ve not only won their last three games, they’ve won every one of them by 10 points or more.

So put the skepticism aside and prepare for a run like the Mariners made: a trip to the playoffs and even some postseason noise along the way.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. You can find him on Twitter @cougsgo, and on KJR-FM 93.3, where he co-hosts a sports talk show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.