SEATTLE — Redemption couldn’t have come much quicker — or likely sweeter — for Tyler Lockett.
Mired in maybe the most mistake-prone game of his storied Seahawks career, Seattle’s longest-tenured player made the biggest play of the game when it mattered most, hauling in a 33-yard TD pass from Geno Smith in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score to lead the Seahawks to a 27-13 win over the New York Giants.
The win was Seattle’s third in a row, improved the Seahawks record to 5-3 and gave them a victory against maybe the only team in the NFL who has been a bigger surprise — a Giants team that fell to 6-2.
Lockett was listed as questionable for the game with rib and hamstring injuries. The hamstring issue has allowed him to barely practice the past two weeks.
And maybe it was that rust that led to two totally uncharacteristic plays that might have been all that stood between Seattle and an easy win Sunday.
A Lockett fumble forced and recovered by New York cornerback Adoree Jackson at the Seattle 3-yard line before a 1-yard run in the first half led to the Giants’ only TD of the game.
Lockett dropped a sure touchdown pass from Smith late in the third quarter, forcing Seattle to settle for a field goal on the drive. Lockett threw his head back in frustration on the field, then received a pep talk from coach Pete Carroll after reaching the sideline.
All of that left the Seahawks locked in a 13-13 tie early in the fourth quarter.
But on the possession following his drop, Lockett first turned a short pass into a 12-yard gain to help Seattle get to the Giants’ 33.
From there, on first down, Lockett broke off the line, stopped, then burst past Jackson down the right sideline.
And this time — as he has so many times during his Seattle career — Lockett reeled in the ball for a TD and a 20-13 Seattle lead with 9:18 remaining that put the Seahawks ahead for good.
After forcing a second fumble of a punt return by New York’s Richie James, Seahawks rookie running back Kenneth Walker III broke free for a 16-yard TD — his fourth straight game with a touchdown — to give Seattle a 27-13 lead and put the game away with 5:22 left.
And while the down-and-then-up day of Locket understandably might get most of the attention, the real star might have been a defense that for a third straight week kept a running game under wraps in the latest step in its stunning turnaround from its early-season struggles.
Only this time, they kept what had been one of the best running games in the NFL in check throughout, forcing Giants QB Daniel Jones to mostly throw the ball in the second half.
The Giants came into the game averaging 173.4 rushing yards per game, second in the NFL.
But the Giants had just 37 yards rushing on 11 carries in the first half and finished with 78 for 28 attempts on the game. Running back Saquon Barkley, who entered the game second in the NFL with 726 yards, was held to 53 yards on 20 carries.
And the Giants had just 225 yards as a team, by far the fewest Seattle has allowed this season. It’s the third straight week the Seahawks have held a team to 329 or fewer after allowing 373 or more each of the first five games.
The Seahawks led 10-7 at the end of a first half that was a surprising defensive struggled between two teams that came into the game with defenses ranked 19th or lower in the NFL and rushing offenses each among the top 10.
Seattle held the Giants to just 46 yards overall and a net of 9 passing with Jones just 2-of-8 for 17 yards.
The Giants didn’t have a first down in the first quarter, and Seattle broke the scoring ice with a 15-play, 69-yard drive that led to a 3-yard pass from Smith to DK Metcalf — who shook off a knee injury suffered last week to play his 57th straight game — to put the Seahawks ahead 7-0 with 12:07 to play in the first half.
Seattle then forced a Giants punt.
But the boot from Jamie Gillan was downed at the 2, and a play later, Lockett fumbled when Jackson stripped the ball, with Jackson recovering it at the 3 and returning it one yard.
Two plays later New York’s Barkley scored from a yard out, and the game was tied at 7 with 5:51 to play.
The Giants then forced a punt with two sacks in a span of three plays.
But the Giants gave the Seahawks a similar gift, with James fumbling when hit by Will Dissly and rookie Joey Blount recovering at the Giants 16.
But the Seahawks couldn’t move it, settling for a 35-yard field goal by Jason Myers that was tipped by Dexter Lawrence but barely crawled over the goal post to put Seattle ahead 10-7 at the half.
Walker was held to 20 yards on nine carries in the first half as New York tackles Leonard Williams and Lawrence dominated the interior.
That forced Smith to throw it 24 times in the first half completing 13 for 95 yards while also sacked three times.
The Giants tied the game on the opening possession of the second half, moving 79 yards in 15 plays with Jones completing his first four passes of the drive for 51 yards.
But Tariq Woolen broke up a third-down pass attempt and the Giants had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Graham Gano with 6:04 to play in the third quarter.
The Seahawks countered with their own field goal drive — but one that also left them wanting much more.
On a third-and-2 play from the Giants 33, Smith dropped a dime to Lockett down the right side near the goal line. But the pass bounced off Lockett’s face mask and fell incomplete, forcing Seattle to settle for a 51-yard field goal by Myers that made it 13-10 with 2:42 to play in the third quarter.
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