The Seattle Seahawks may finally be out of the woods. 

While there may still be some competition in the NFC West in the form of a very talented 49ers team, the Seahawks have their first good chance at winning the division after a few down years.

A huge part of that comes from the benefit that Geno Smith brings to this roster.

While no one wants to get too far ahead of themselves with a player like Smith, the good news is that he has strongly solidified himself as the best quarterback in the NFC West, and it isn't particularly close. 

Kyler Murray is on his last legs, Matthew Stafford is a massive question mark, and Brock Purdy is the product of one of the most quarterback-friendly systems in the NFL.

Smith has the arm and accuracy that Stafford has shown the last few years (not the Hall of Fame arm that he had in his earlier years), enough athletic ability to get outside of the pocket and create like Murray (without all of the mistakes), and has the experience that Purdy will take years to develop.

Geno Smith had the best season of the four main starters in the division, and it seems extremely likely that he continues to outperform his main rivals over the next few years as well.

Assuming the Seahawks can maintain this difference at the position, they should be in a great spot to win or compete for the top seeding in the NFC West for years to come.

The NFL is still making the mistake of writing Geno Smith off

The league-wide opinion of the Seahawks quarterback is bemusing.

Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports