Giants Defense Comes Up Clutch on Seattle's Last Ditch Drive
The Giants defense held the Seahawks to their lowest scoring output of the season on Sunday, holding the league's third-best scoring offense to just 12 points in a 17-12 win.
Seahawks quarterback and MVP candidate Russel Wilson had his worst passing performance of 2020, completing 27 of 43 passes for 263 yards, one touchdown, and one pick in the loss as the Giants defense flummoxed Wilson with its coverage disguises.
Wilson, who currently ranks seventh among active quarterbacks in game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime with 30, including two this season against the Cowboys and Vikings, had a chance to add another signature comeback to his resume of late-game heroics.
"In the second half we did a good job of getting the ball out and kind of having some plays where we get the ball out quicker," Wilson said of Seattle's late offensive push.
"Anytime we get the ball back in that situation we think we're going to make something happen but unfortunately they made a couple more plays than us."
On the Seahawks' final possession of the game, Wilson took over from his 20-yard line with 1:11 left and two timeouts. It certainly wasn't an easy situation for Wilson and the offense, but one he has proven to be capable of pulling off in his illustrious career.
Early in the drive, it appeared that Wilson was on track to pull it off when he completed his first three passes for 31 yards to get into Giants' territory.
But then the Giants defense put its foot down and kept up its recent trend of aggressively closing games in big moments.
After back-to-back incompletions by Wilson, Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams broke through for the Giants fifth sack of the game, bringing his total to 2.5 on the day and 8.5 on the season.
Then on a 4th-and-18, Wilson had no other choice but to lob up a pass and a prayer, but cornerback James Bradberry was in a position to break it up and clinch one of the NFL's most significant upset victories of the season.
"I've always loved those up-tempo moments just because I think the defense gets tired and because we're pushing the envelope a little bit," Wilson said.
"But it really just came down to the situational time and we didn't capitalize on our situations and that's always going to be this game. You got to win those situations and all the games we've won, we won those situations."
Instead, it was the Giants coming up big in the most critical situation of the game.
It didn't come easy for the Giants either, as they had to overcome the loss of their defensive captain and leading tackler in linebacker Blake Martinez who had to come out of the game with a back injury.
But they held it together and stopped Wilson in a signature win for head coach Joe Judge and set the tone for the turnaround this team has made throughout the season.
Get the latest New York Giants news by joining our community. Click "Follow" at the top right of our SI Giants Country page. Mobile users click the notification bell. Follow us on Facebook.
