Seahawks Instant Reaction: Seattle Sports on 27-13 win over Giants

Not only are the Seahawks alone in first place in the NFC West for yet another week, but they may have made their biggest statement yet with Sunday’s 23-17 win over the New York Giants.

Seahawks 27, Giants 13: Lockett gets redemption TD | Recap story

The Giants came into the game with a 6-1 record, but the Seahawks were able to pull away for the victory in the fourth quarter thanks in part to a stellar defensive effort that shut down New York’s strong running game.

As we do after each Seahawks game, we have collected the instant reactions from Seattle Sports’ voices. Read what they have to say below, and tune in all day Monday for much more on the Hawks beginning with Brock and Salk at 6 a.m. and The Pete Carroll Show with Seattle’s head coach at 8:30.

Stacy Rost – Bump and Stacy (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)

A game that began with a surprise ended with another (and if you’re not a fan of surprises, I promise this is fine because both benefited the Seahawks).

Surprise #1: Seahawks-Giants was the only game on the Week 8 schedule to feature two teams with winning records. No one saw the Giants being 6-1 entering today, and few saw Seattle quarterback Geno Smith entering the game as a top-five passer in football. Yet here they were with a real opportunity: New York’s No. 2 rushing offense and Seattle’s promising young rookie running back Kenneth Walker III facing off against two of the worst run defenses in football. The Giants were allowing a league worst 5.7 yards per carry and Seattle was giving up over 150 rushing yards per game.

Here’s the second surprise: Because this year’s NFL season feels even stranger than normal, the Seahawks held the Giants to 78 rushing yards and New York held Seattle to 87 (both running backs – Walker and New York’s Saquon Barkley – managed to find the end zone), and by the final whistle neither looked like a defensive unit that had been gashed on the ground earlier this year.

Seahawks surging, put clamps down in dominant win over Giants

It was a weird one (a Halloween eve game is always the time for something strange, right?). But here’s what else to take from this: If the Seahawks’ defense can keep up its solid play, that group – combined with an offense averaging 26 points per game – suddenly looks like a wild card team in a weakened NFC. Maybe there’s another surprise yet in store for Seattle…

Mike Salk – Brock and Salk (6-10 a.m.)

Championships aren’t won in the first half of the season, but that doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish important things that set the stage for the big moments to come. And the Seahawks have certainly set that stage. At 5-3, winners of three straight games against quality opponents (I’m being kind to the 2-4 Cardinals), and with a rookie class that is improving every week, this Seattle team is legitimate.

They have a quarterback who has handled every challenge thrown his way and seems to fit this offense perfectly. They have an offensive line that protects, doesn’t get confused, and can blow open holes in the run game. They have a funky group of weapons that can attack you in multiple ways and out of formations. They have a defense that has turned 180 degrees in a month, a corner that shuts down half the field (Tariq Woolen), and some versatile edge rushers that can also operate in space.

And they have a coach that bristles at the suggestion that he has been reinvigorated, but is clearly as energized by coaching this young team as they are being coached by him. Pete Carroll’s exuberance, support, belief, and philosophy has been at the center of this turnaround. And if his teams have generally finished stronger than they start, the future is very, very bright.

Dave Wyman – Wyman and Bob (2-7 p.m.)/Seahawks Radio

Mike Lefko – Wyman and Bob

The defense is for real. The Seahawks are for real.

The Giants came in with the second-best rushing attack in the NFL (173.4 yards per game) and the Seahawks’ defense completely erased any threat from the New York offense, holding it to just 78 yards rushing on 28 attempts.

Instead, we saw the best defensive half of the Seahawks’ season with New York held to just 46 total yards in the first 30 minutes, and the Giants’ only points before halftime coming from starting a drive at the Seahawks 2-yard line. The emergence of Will “Special Teams Weapon” Dissly also helped turn the tide with a forced fumble and fumble recovery on two punts that led to 10 Seahawks points.

Credit goes to the offense, as well, especially DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett playing through an array of injuries to combine for 11 receptions, 118 yards and two touchdowns. It was Lockett’s 33-yard touchdown reception that capped off a five-play, 75-yard drive that proved to be the decisive answer after the Giants had tied the game. And Geno Smith continues to make smart decisions and great throws, case in point on the aforementioned touchdown pass to Lockett which put the bow on Smith’s perfect 5-for-5 outing on that drive.

The Seahawks are 5-3 and alone in first place in the NFC West. It’s a fun team, and more importantly, a team that looks like it’s getting better each week.

Justin Barnes – Brock and Salk

Just another Sunday of Seahawks rookie dominance.

The little bit of luck that I thought carried the Seahawks through four wins now feels like the opposite: supreme rookie talent, excellent preparation (and adjustments) by a green coaching crew – and yes, some absolutely terrific quarterback play. Geno Smith’s decision making felt confident, calm and settled as he converted two big fourth downs and fought through some drops by Seahawks receivers and an uncharacteristically rough day for Tyler Lockett. But this camera shot of Geno talking to Lockett on the bench said it all for me. That’s what real, authentic leadership from a quarterback looks like.

K.J. Wright told Brock and Salk last Wednesday that the Seahawks’ run defense had “not really being tested” against an elite running attack like the New York Giants have shown in the first half of the season, and I can’t wait to hear what he has to say on this week’s K.J. Wright Show (Wednesdays at 8 a.m. with Brock and Salk) after this young defense held Saquon Barkley and Co. to just 78 yards on the ground and sacked QB Daniel Jones five times. Until Sunday, all seven of the Giants’ games were decided by a single score, and their last three wins came despite trailing in the fourth quarter. But this Seahawks defense allowed just one touchdown, and I can’t believe it’s the same crew we watched last month.

Maybe there was a little dash of luck mixed into this win, but luck favors the bold, brave, strong and prepared.

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