Takeaway
After a wretched first half in which the Seahawks went 0-for-10 on goal-to-go plays, dropped two likely TD passes, were flagged for eight penalties and lost a fumble, QB Russell Wilson tossed three touchdown passes to help the Seahawks blow past the 1-6 New York Giants 24-7 Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Wilson touchdowns were 22 yards to WR Doug Baldwin, 38 to WR Paul Richardson and 1 to TE Jimmy Graham as the Seahawks won their third in a row to move into second place in the NFC West (4-2). The Seattle defense held Eli Manning and the injury-filled Giants, who knocked off Denver last week on the road, to 177 yards of total offense, 46 rushing. Manning finished with a 65.5 passer rating.
Offense
Wilson completed 27 of 39 for 344 yards and no interceptions for a passer rating of 121.1, his highest of the season. The yardage was second behind a 373-yard performance at Tennessee Sept. 24.
On 12 targets, Baldwin caught a season-high nine passes for 92 yards with a long of 32. He has four touchdowns in five career games at MetLife Stadium.
Graham had three catches for 51 yards, including a touchdown, but dropped a TD pass in the end zone and butterfingered another potential TD pass, both in the second quarter, when he was wide open on the sideline with only 30 yards remaining for a TD.
The Seahawks accumulated 425 yards, ran 71 plays to New York’s 57 and averaged six yards per play to the Giants’ 3.1. Seattle had 104 rushing yards 30 attempts.
Starter Thomas Rawls led Seahawks rushers with 36 yards, two more than Eddie Lacy, but had the ball popped loose by SS Landon Collins in the second quarter and returned 33 yards. That set up New York’s only TD, Manning’s five-yard throw to TE Evan Engram in the second quarter, only the fourth red zone TD allowed by Seattle this season, best mark in the NFL.
In a 16-play, 10-minute span overlapping the first and second quarters, the Seahawks ran 10 plays from the New York 10-yard line or closer, or in, and came away scoreless.
Seattle’s second TD, to Richardson, had its origins in DE Frank Clark’s recovery of a fumble that followed DT Jarran Reed’s strip-sack of Manning. On the next play, Wilson tossed a short screen to WR J.D. McKissic, who threw back to Wilson, who lofted a ball 55 yards in the air to Richardson in the left corner of the end zone. Reminiscent of the “Fail Mary” play against Green Bay in 2012, Richardson was awarded the score upon review after it appeared to be a simultaneous catch with the defender.
Defense
K. J. Wright led the Seahawks with 11 tackles, including eight solo. Bobby Wagner had eight tackles, six solo, and and Reed seven tackles, seven solo. Reed had Seattle’s only sack.
New York had a chance to tie at 10 in the fourth quarter, but field goal kicker Aldrick Rosas missed from inside 40 yards.
Key stat: The Seahawks held the Giants to 2-for-12 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down.
Noteworthy
With its fourth consecutive victory over the Giants, the Seahawks tied the all-time series 9-9 . . . The Seahawks also improved to 5-0 at Met Life Stadium. That includes Seattle’s 43-8 win over Denver in Super Bowl XVIII . . . Seattle is 8-2 in its past 10 contests in the Eastern time zone. . . . Coach Pete Carroll Sunday recorded his 117th NFL win, tying Dennis Green for 35th place on the all-time list. Carroll is 5-1 in his career against the Giants. . . Wilson’s win was the 60th of his career in the regular season, tying Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan for No. 2 all-time in the first six seasons of a career. Joe Flacco holds the mark with 62 . . . The Los Angeles Rams crushed Arizona 33-0 and improved to 5-2, the top mark in the NFC West, a half-game better than Seattle’s 4-2.
Next
The Seahawks return to CenturyLink Field Sunday to face the Houston Texans at 1:05 p.m. (CBS).
1 Comment
It was another soft game against another soft opponent. Good rally in the second half. Another soft opponent awaits. Then a tough second half stretch.