There’s a reason for the old adage “any given Sunday” when it comes to the NFL. In this league, there are no “gimmies.” Unfortunately, this was a hard lesson the Seattle Seahawks had to re-learn, as the New York Giants embarrassed them in their own home to the tune of 29-20.
The Giants flat-out dominated the Seahawks from start to finish. There is simply no other way to put it. While the final score may not be indicative of a blowout, what transpired on the field was anything but competitive. New York had the clear advantage in total yards (420 to 333), first downs (24 to 17), offensive plays (71 to 58), and time of possession (37:22 to 22:38).
In fact, the only reason why this game appeared within reach was because the Seahawks had a 102-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. After that, Seattle did next to nothing. Without the defensive touchdown, the Seahawks were outscored 29-13.
This was a particularly humiliating day for Seattle’s defense, as a Giants team without Malik Nabers or Devin Singletary marched up and down the field. The much-maligned Daniel Jones completed 23-of-34 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, backup running back Tyrone Tracy had 129 yards on the ground out of New York’s 175 total as a team. Getting starters Leonard Williams, Julian Love, Jerome Baker and Uchenna Nwosu (who left with a thigh injury) did little to improve the play on the field.
As for Seattle’s offense, they simply could not get anything going. Geno Smith was fine, all things considered, when he wasn’t being sacked seven times. It was a particularly brutal day for offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who seemed to forget Kenneth Walker III is healthy. On the day, Walker touched the ball a whopping 5 times for 19 yards.
The Seahawks finally did find the end zone when Smith hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a five-yard score with 2:09 left to play. After forcing a punt from the Giants, Seattle was in a position to kick a game-tying field goal with 65 seconds left in the game. It was not to be, as New York blocked Jason Myers’ field goal and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to officially put the game out of reach.
Like I said, there are no “gimmies” in this league but certain games are much more winnable than others. Facing the previously one-win New York Giants at home definitely counts as more than winnable. This was a brutal game to drop, as the Seahawks will be taking the field once more this week on Thursday night to face the San Francisco 49ers.
Speaking of which, the silver lining for Seattle is at least the 49ers lost as well. They were also upset by a previously one-win team, as the Arizona Cardinals stole a 24-23 win in Santa Clara. The Seahawks will remain in first place in the NFC West, at least for a few more days. If they want to stay in first after Thursday Night Football, they have a lot to clean up in a not a whole lot of time to do so.
