Seahawks beat Giants on MNF, defense steals the show
The Seattle Seahawks‘ defense shined as they beat the New York Giants 24-3 at MetLife Stadium on Monday night. Giants QB Daniel Jones turned the ball over three times and was sacked 10 times.
It wasn’t all great for the Seahawks as safety Jamal Adams was lost early in the first quarter after being evaluated for a concussion. It was his first game back since he suffered a torn left quad tendon in last season’s opening game.
This season marks the 10-year anniversary of the 2013 Seahawks team that won Super Bowl XLVIII, a feat that seems like longer than a decade ago given all the suspect defense Seattle has played of late.
But on Monday night, in the same stadium where they claimed their lone Lombardi Trophy, the Seahawks turned back the clock and delivered a dominant defensive performance reminiscent of that 43-8 trouncing of the Denver Broncos.
Eleven sacks. Three takeaways plus a pair of turnovers on downs. A defensive touchdown. Only a field goal allowed.
Eat your heart out, Legion of Boom.
Cornerback Devon Witherspoon, the high-flying rookie cornerback whose aggressive style would have fit right in with the LOB, helped turn a close game into a runaway victory for Seattle with a 97-yard pick-six in the third quarter.
The Seahawks are 3-1 despite a long list of injuries, and they appeared to dodge another serious one when Geno Smith briefly left the game after hurting his knee. Teams usually don’t like byes in Week 5, but the Seahawks won’t complain about that right now.
Buy on a breakout performance: This was already shaping up to be Witherspoon’s breakout before his pick-six. He had a sack of Jones on a blitz and was credited with another sack on a backward pass. His touchdown came at a clutch time, with the Giants knocking on the door of a score that could have cut Seattle’s lead to three points. The Seahawks were second-guessed left and right after taking Witherspoon fifth overall instead of Jalen Carter, who would have filled their most glaring need. But in addition to their off-the-field concerns with Carter, they also thought Witherspoon was the better player. Time will tell there, of course, but Witherspoon’s immense talent is starting to shine after a slow start.
Promising trend: Eleven sacks is a beyond promising development for Seattle’s pass rush. It had been inconsistent over the first three games before exploding against the Giants. The 11 sacks tied a franchise record and more than doubled their combined total (five) heading into Monday night’s game. Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Witherspoon and Uchenna Nwosu all had two sacks apiece. This marks the first time since 1987 that a team had four players with multiple sacks in a game, per ESPN Stats & Information. The Seahawks have generated an NFL-best 46 pressures over the last two games, according to ESPN Stats & Info. They’ve had 20-plus pressures in both games, the first time they’ve done that in consecutive games since ESPN began tracking pressures in 2009.
QB breakdown: Smith hadn’t missed a snap in his first 21 games as the Seahawks’ starter until he went down with a knee injury in the second quarter on a sideline tackle. He returned for the start of the second half and finished 13-of-20 for 110 yards and a touchdown. Drew Lock went 2-of-6 for 63 yards in relief, including tight end Noah Fant’s 51-yard catch-and-run that set up a Walker III touchdown.
Troubling trend: Adams’ much-anticipated return lasted all of nine plays. He went down on the opening possession after taking a knee to the helmet and was ruled out after being evaluated for a concussion. Adams can’t catch a break. Entering Monday night, he has missed 28 of a possible 53 regular-season games since Seattle acquired him in the blockbuster trade with the Jets in 2020. Also on Monday night, the Seahawks lost guards Damien Lewis (ankle) and Phil Haynes (calf) to injuries. Nose tackle Jarran Reed (shin) also left. — Brady Henderson
