The Seattle Seahawks gave the 12th Man quite the treat to close out Halloween weekend with a 27-13 victory over the New York Giants. The only trick here is the score is not indicative of how one-sided this game actually was.
Buy Seahawks TicketsSeattle dominated through and through. If it weren’t for two dropped touchdown passes and a rare Tyler Lockett fumble at their own two-yard line, this score would have been a lot uglier against the Giants.
The Seahawks may not have been flashy on Sunday, but they took care of business and suffocated the G-Men. Seattle improves to 5-3, and with the Cardinals and Rams both losing, their grip on first place in the NFC West tightened.
Back to back weeks of thoroughly dismantling two quality opponents, especially ones from the media capitals of the country, will have it so no one will sleep on the Seattle Seahawks moving forward. This week there are only studs.
No. 1 Stud - Will Dissly, special teams star
Tight end Will Dissly has made a name for himself in Seattle as an incredibly consistent and reliable option in the passing attack. He may not have stats to pop off the page, but anyone who watches Seahawks football knows how impactful he is in limited opportunities.
On Sunday, he may have made a name for himself as an invaluable player on special teams. The Giants had two crucial fumbled punt returns, which led to 10 Seattle points. Dissly was directly involved with both.
Tied 7-7 late in the first half, Dissly actually forced a fumble of Giants return man Richie James. Seattle turned this opportunity into a field goal to give them a 10-7 lead at half. Later, Dissly recovered another James fumble – this time caused by Travis Homer – to set the Seahawks up deep in Seattle territory. Two plays later, Ken Walker delivered the knockout blow to put the Seahawks up 27-13.
No. 2 Stud - Tyler Lockett's redemption
Tyler Lockett was awful close to a rare appearance on the Duds list. Lockett has been one of the most consistent players for the Seahawks his entire tenure, but was in the midst of an atypically poor game.
Backed against their own end zone, Lockett fumbled at Seattle’s two-yard line which was recovered by New York. The Giants capitalized by scoring a touchdown two plays later, tying the game at 7-7. Later, Lockett dropped a guaranteed touchdown on 3rd down, forcing Seattle to settle for a field goal.
However, Lockett more than made up for it by hauling in a 33-yard strike from Geno Smith to give Seattle a 20-13 lead in the 4th. Lockett finished the game with five receptions for 63 yards and a score.
After the game, head coach Pete Carroll told reporters “Tyler’s the best receiver I’ve ever been around. I’ve never seen anybody do all of the things so consistently for such a long time, of course he’s going to make a double move to score a touchdown.” Lockett rewarded his coach’s unwavering faith in a big way.
No. 3 Stud - Run defense
This was the third straight week of suffocating defense for the Seattle Seahawks, but this might be the most impressive. Going into Sunday, the New York Giants were second in the NFL with 173 yards on the ground per game. Led by star running back Saquon Barkley and their surprisingly mobile quarterback, the Giants ground attack is one of the tougher nuts to crack in the league.
It did not matter to the Seahawks.
The Giants were running into a navy-colored brick wall all afternoon. Seattle held New York to only 78 yards as a team. Barkley carried the ball 20 times for only 53 yards. For those keeping score at home, that’s a paltry 2.7 yards per carry.
Run defense has been a particular weakness for the Seahawks. To see them show up in a big way against a quality opponent should give the 12th Man plenty of reason for optimism.
