Instant Reaction: Seattle Seahawks fall flat in loss to NY Giants
Oct 6, 2024, 4:55 PM | Updated: 7:19 pm
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
After opening the season with three straight wins, the Seattle Seahawks have now lost two straight.
The Hawks struggled on both sides of the ball Sunday, falling 29-20 at Seattle’s Lumen Field to the New York Giants.
Hawks lose | Observations | Injuries | Rost’s column | Stats
As we do after every Seahawks game, we have collected the instant reactions of the voices of Seattle Sports. See what they have to say below, and be sure to tune in all day Monday on Seattle Sports 710 AM, the Seattle Sports app and SeattleSports.com for even more Seahawks reaction and analysis beginning with Brock and Salk at 6 a.m. and the weekly Mike Macdonald Show at 9:30 a.m. with the head coach.
Bob Stelton – Wyman and Bob (2-7 p.m.)
What do you even say about this one? The Giants came into the game 1-3 and without their best receiver and running back, yet they still didn’t pretty much whatever they wanted to on offense. Their defense also had their way with this Seahawks’ offense, who had just 90 total yards at the half: 88 passing yards, two rushing yards. TWO!
It’s hard to blame any one player, position group or side of the ball. The Hawks were flat-out dominated in every aspect of this game.
The good news or bad news, depending on how you look at it, is that the 49ers are here on Thursday, which leaves little time to dwell on this disaster.
It also leaves little time to correct all that went wrong. This is going to be a huge test for this coaching staff to have this team fixed and ready by Thursday night.
Mike Salk – Brock and Salk (6-10 a.m.)
For the first time this season, the Seahawks lost to an inferior opponent. There are plenty of reasons why: their defense couldn’t get off the field and the offense mustered just 13 points, not getting into the end zone for nearly 58 minutes. Those are group efforts and the blame can be spread around coaches and players alike.
The defense probably had a worse day overall, but five offensive plays in three sequences were the difference. The first was DK Metcalf’s fumble in the first half. He now leads all receivers in fumbles since he entered the league, and this one not only cost his team a chance to get points, but it put his already tired defense back on the field where it then gave up a touchdown. It was a 10-14 point swing.
The second was Geno Smith’s decision to slide a yard short of the sticks early in the fourth quarter. A first down lets that drive continue. Instead, they got desperate on fourth down and handed the Giants three more points. There are times to protect your body and times to move the chains – I don’t need to tell you which one this was. There are times to stay aggressive on fourth down, even in your own territory, but this one was a reach. Another 3-10 point swing.
Then there were the two incomplete passes that ended the final drive and led to the blocked kick. On second-and-4 from the 28-yard line, the Hawks took a deep shot to Tyler Lockett. The idea of getting into the end zone from the high red zone makes sense, but not with just over a minute to play. Even if you succeed, you give New York the ball with plenty of time to go down and win. If it’s incomplete, you are forcing yourself to get a first down on the next play, or else even a made field goal gives the Giants plenty of time to score and win. The upside of the score is greatly outweighed by the risk. A dropped pass from Jaxson Smith-Njigba later and the Seahawks had to kick. Sure, the blocked kick sealed their fate, but even if they had tied it up, New York was in prime position to win anyway.
Good thing the Niners and Rams lost as well.
NFC West Check-In: 49ers collapse in fourth quarter against Arizona
Dave Wyman – Wyman and Bob/Seattle Seahawks Radio Network
Mike Lefko – Wyman and Bob
The learning curve can be steep for a first-time NFL head coach, and I think one item Mike Macdonald will evaluate after this is how the Seahawks prepare for a game on a short week. After losing to Detroit on Monday, Seattle was off Tuesday and had a walkthrough Wednesday, so it only had two days of practice for this game and it felt like they were out of sync all game.
It’s certainly a challenge to balance those opposing forces of wanting to keep players fresh and healthy (especially with another game looming on Thursday) while also pouring everything into the game in front of you. To that second point, the Giants’ offense early on seemed better equipped to counter its lack of a deep threat with screens and designed QB runs that kept the Seahawks’ defense off balance and led to a softened-up secondary later in the game.
The Seattle defense also looked tired, which was understandable for the amount of time it was on the field. The one downside of scoring a defensive touchdown, especially at the end of a grueling, 16-play, 10-minute drive, is that the defense has to go right back on the field.
As for the offense, whether it was a long time on the sidelines after the opening drive (nearly 30 minutes of real time), the short week, or a combination of both, it could never find a rhythm. That’s the two-pronged issue with not being able to extend drives by converting on third down: a tired defense must go back out while the offense doesn’t get opportunities to establish itself. It has been a recurring issue, but the offensive line was not able to hold up in keeping a clean pocket for the passing game on a day where the offense once again relied heavily on moving the ball through the air.
We all chalked up the loss to the Lions to the personnel missing on defense and the fact that it was a road game against one of the best teams in the league. There are no excuses after this one, and it will be fascinating to see how Macdonald responds amidst the first true adversity of his coaching career.
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