Defense stands tall, offense catches up as Seahawks beat Giants 24-7
Oct 22, 2017, 2:09 PM | Updated: 4:30 pm
Paul Richardson was awarded a touchdown on a simultaneous catch in the fourth quarter. (AP)
(AP)
The Seattle Seahawks had a strong start on offense Sunday against the New York – on the stat sheet, at least.
The Seahawks caught up on the scoreboard, and eventually took over, to beat the Giants 24-7 at MetLife Stadium.
Russell Wilson had a nice day, throwing three touchdowns, but the Seahawks’ defense was the real star of the show. The only points New York managed came after a Thomas Rawls fumble gave the Giants the ball in Seattle territory, and a big sack and forced fumble by Jarran Reed went a long way in allowing the Seahawks to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Here’s a breakdown of each quarter:
FIRST QUARTER
Seahawks 0, Giants 0
As has become customary, the Seahawks didn’t have any success on their first drive of the game, punting after six plays. They were fortunate that the score remained 0-0 after the Giants’ first series, too, as Seattle twice gave New York first downs due to penalties – including on a punt that wiped out what would have been a three-and-out. The Seahawks found their footing when they eventually did get the ball back, but Seattle’s issues in the red zone reared their head as the quarter neared its end. The Hawks put together a 16-play, 89-yard drive, but they stalled out at New York’s 1 on the first play of the second quarter as the game remained scoreless. A silver lining for Seattle is that their 12 plays in the red zone were likely a factor in wearing down the Giants’ defense.
Notable: Justin Britt, Seattle’s center and an offensive lineman it can ill afford to lose, came out for a spell due to an apparent leg injury. Ethan Pocic, a rookie, replaced Britt in the interim. Running back C.J. Prosise saw just one play before coming out after re-aggravating the ankle injury that kept him out of action the previous two games. His return was deemed questionable.
SECOND QUARTER
Giants 7, Seahawks 3
The Seahawks had a second quarter to forget at MetLife Stadium. It started with an incompletion on fourth-and-goal from New York’s 1. Not long after, it continued when Thomas Rawls’ 5-yard run ended with a fumble that Giants safety Landon Collins recovered and returned 17 yards to Seattle’s 32. And just two plays following that, New York poured salt in the wound as Eli Manning connected with tight end Evan Engram for a 5-yard touchdown. There was no reason to fault Seattle’s defense for yielding that score, but there was plenty of reason to point a finger at the Seahawks’ offense, which failed to find the end zone over five drives in the first half even though it dominated the time of possession battle (20:38 to 9:22), had 15 first downs to New York’s 4 and outgained the Giants 222 yards to 42. Seattle did at least get three points on the board inside the final minute thanks to a 39-yard field goal by Blair Walsh.
Notable: Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett was very slow to get up after he was unable to catch down a long pass jumping up in traffic in the end zone inside the two-minute warning. The facemask of Lockett’s helmet hit the back of a Giants player as they both landed on the play. He was back in action a few plays later, pulling down an apparent touchdown, but it was waved off for offensive pass interference.
NYG – Eli Manning 5 pass to Evan Engram, 11:51 (Aldrick Rosas kick, 7-0 NYG)
SEA – Blair Walsh FG 39, :42 (7-3 NYG)
THIRD QUARTER
Seahawks 10, Giants 7
The Seahawks finally produced some results on the scoreboard to go with their offensive dominance on the stat sheet. Doug Baldwin hauled in his second touchdown reception of the season, a 22-yard pass from Russell Wilson that capped off a four-play, 59-yard drive that also featured catches of 23 and 29 yards by Paul Richardson and Jimmy Graham, respectively. Seattle didn’t slip on defense, either, forcing the Giants into punts on the first three of their four drives in the frame. Engram, New York’s best receiving options with their top three wideouts all out with injuries, did nearly put the Giants on the doorstep of a touchdown midway through the quarter, but the long pass was called back as he stepped out of bounds before returning to the field of play to make the catch.
SEA – Russell Wilson 22 pass to Doug Baldwin, 7:30 (Walsh kick, 10-7 SEA)
FOURTH QUARTER
Seahawks 24, Giants 7
The Seahawks caught a break early in the fourth quarter as Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas missed a 47-yard field goal attempt, allowing them to stay in the lead by three points. Then Seattle made a break for itself, Jarran Reed sacking Eli Manning and causing a fumble in the process. Frank Clark recovered it, giving Seattle the ball at New York’s 38, and it wasn’t long after that the Seahawks made it a two-score game with a touchdown reception by Paul Richardson. It was no ordinary touchdown, though, as it was ruled a simultaneous catch because New York’s Collins also had his hands around the ball. As Seahawks fans know from Golden Tate’s memorable score against the Packers in 2012, the catch goes to the offense in those occasions, and after it was confirmed by replay, the Seahawks moved into a 17-7 advantage. Seattle put the game away with a 12-play, 50-yard drive that was finished off with a 1-yard score by Jimmy Graham.
SEA – Wilson 38 pass to Paul Richardson, 9:34 (Walsh kick, 17-7 SEA)
SEA – Wilson 1 pass to Jimmy Graham, 2:14 (Walsh kick, 24-7 SEA)
