Seattle Seahawks Dominate New York Giants in Nightmare Night at MetLife Stadium

Jordan Raanan and Brady HendersonOct 3, 2023, 00:00 ETLreading: 5 min.

Nightmare night in New York for Daniel Jones and company

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey. — The Seattle Seahawks defense shined in beating the New York Giants, 24-3, at MetLife Stadium on Monday night. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones fumbled three times and was sacked 10 times.

Not everything was great for the Seahawks as safety Jamal Adams was injured early in the first quarter after being evaluated for a concussion. It was his first game back since he suffered a torn left quadriceps tendon in last season’s opener.

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Seahawks

This season marks the 10th anniversary of the 2013 Seahawks team winning Super Bowl XLVIII, a feat that seems like more than a decade ago.

On Monday Night Football, in the same stadium where they won their only Lombardi Trophy, they turned back the clock and delivered a dominant defensive performance reminiscent of that 43-8 beating of the Denver Broncos.

Eleven catches. Three steals plus a couple of turnovers. Only one field goal was allowed.

Cornerback Devon Witherspoon, the high-profile rookie cornerback whose aggressive style would have fit perfectly, helped turn a close game into a blowout victory for Seattle with a 97-yard Pick 6 in the third quarter.

The Seahawks are 3-1 despite a long list of injuries, and seemed to dodge another serious one when Geno Smith briefly left the game after injuring his knee. Teams generally don’t like byes in Week 5, but the Seahawks won’t complain about that right now.

Featured performance: This was already shaping up to be Witherspoon’s breakout before her pick-six. He had a sack on Jones on a blitz and was credited with another sack on a backward pass. His touchdown came at a crucial moment, with the Giants knocking on the door of a score that could have cut Seattle’s lead to three points. The Seahawks were questioned left and right after drafting Witherspoon fifth overall over Jalen Carter, who would have filled their most glaring need. But in addition to his personal concerns with Carter, they also thought Witherspoon was the better player. Time will tell, of course, but Witherspoon’s immense talent is starting to shine after a slow start.

Promising trend: Eleven sacks is a more than promising development for the Seattle team. They had been inconsistent through the first three games before breaking out against the Giants. The 11 sacks tied a franchise record and more than doubled their combined total (five) heading into Monday’s game. Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Witherspoon and Uchenna Nwosu each had two sacks.

QB Breakdown: Smith had not missed a play in his first 21 games as a Seahawks starter until he suffered a knee injury in the second quarter following a tackle. He returned early in the second half and finished 13 of 20 for 110 yards and a touchdown. Drew Lock, off the bench, was 2 of 6 for 63 yards, including Fant’s 51-yard catch-and-break that led to Walker III’s touchdown.

Worrying trend: Adams’ long-awaited return lasted all nine plays. He went down on the first possession after taking a knee to the helmet and was ruled out after being evaluated for a concussion. Adams can’t take a break due to his injuries. Before MNF he missed 28 of a possible 53 regular season games since Seattle acquired him in the blockbuster trade with the Jets in 2020. Also in MNF, the Seahawks lost guards Damien Lewis (ankle) and Phil Haynes ( calf) for injuries. Nose tackle Jarran Reed (shin) also was out. –Brady Henderson

Next match: contra Cincinnati Bengals

Giants

The Giants offense is a disaster. Jones is back to his old turnover ways. The result is that the Giants’ season has quickly fizzled out just four ugly games into the season. Jones lost a fumble and threw two interceptions, one that was returned 97 yards for a touchdown with the game still in doubt. Not that he’s gotten much help. The offensive line was a disaster and allowed 11 sacks. Special teams committed six penalties. This was bad. As the season progresses, the Giants will have to do something with road games in Miami and Buffalo on hold. It could get worse before it gets better.

QB Breakdown: Jones completed 27 of 34 passes for 203 yards and 2 INTs. This is not the quarterback everyone saw in coach Brian Daboll’s first season under coach Brian Daboll last season. Sure, Jones is under constant pressure, but he’s not playing well either. Both can be true. The three turnovers were all Jones’ fault. He now has six in four games this season. Did the Giants make a mistake by giving Jones that $160 million contract? This was the third time in four games that he played poorly. New York needs much better or this season will get out of hand.

Worrying trend: The Giants have been outscored 77-9 in the first half of games this season. To say they have struggled in the first half of games would be an understatement. The Giants have not scored a touchdown in the first half of their four games this season. They have only made field goals of 44, 55 and 57 yards. Their -68 point differential in the first half of games is tied for the fourth-worst by a team in four games in the Super Bowl era. This after the Giants talked all week about finding ways to get off to a better start. Safe to say it again didn’t work.

Impressive NFL Next Gen Stat: Seahawks TE Noah Fant’s 19.8 expected yards after the catch. This was what Fant was expected to accomplish after being 15.34 yards from the nearest defender on his 51-yard reception late in the second quarter. But Fant got much more, thanks to missed tackles on the sideline by inside linebacker Bobby Okereke and cornerback Adoree Jackson. Fan gained 46 yards after the catch on the play and was finally stopped at the 1-yard line. Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III scored on the next play. –Jordan Raanan

Next match: contra los Miami Dolphins

2023-10-03 04:00:00
#Seahawks #defenseman #stole #show #MNF #Giants