Giants Handle Step Up in Competition, Top Seattle Seahawks 17-12
If the New York Giants were to have any chance of squashing the snickers coming from the critics about their first-place standing in the "NFC Least" that came about by beating up on teams with equal or worse records than they had, they had to deliver a convincing defensive performance against an 8-3 Seahawks team that entered Week 13 with an offense ranked fifth in average yards on offense per game, fourth in passing yards, and third in scoring.
The Giants, thanks to their top-10 defense in average yards per game, rushing yards allowed, and point surrendered, did just that in a 17-12 upset win over the Seahawks, becoming the first team in the NFC East to record a win against an opponent with a winning record this year.
Without starting quarterback Daniel Jones, the Giants offense leaned on their running game to generate 190 of their 290 total yards on offense.
Running back Alfred Morris accounted for both of the Giants touchdowns in the third quarter, one on a pass and one on a run, which gave New York a 14-5 lead they would never relinquish.
Giants running back Wayne Gallman, who saw his streak of five games with a rushing touchdown come to an end, recorded a career-long 60-yard run that set up the Giants first touchdown. Gallman also finished with a new career-high of 135 rushing yards on 16 carries, his first 100-yard rushing performance of his career.
The Giants also got a 48-yard field goal from kicker Graham Gano to cap off their scoring for the day.
The Giants defense was stellar from start to finish, holding quarterback Russell Wilson to 27 out of 43 pass attempts for 263 yards, while top receiver D.K. A week after torching the Eagles defense for 177 yards on ten receptions, Metcalf was held to 80 yards on five receptions by cornerback James Bradberry. Seahawks running back Chris Carson, in his second game back from injury, finished with 65 yards on 13 carries.
The Seahawks opened the game with an impressive looking drive that ended up stalling in the red zone and forced them to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Jason Myers for the 3-0 lead.
The Giants had a chance to potentially tie the game on their second drive of the game, but Colt McCoy threw an interception in the red zone to defensive back Quandre Diggs, who recorded his fourth interception of the season.
But Wilson and the Seahawks struggled to figure out the Giants defense and were only able to add to their lead when Riley Dixon’s punt was blocked and rolled out of the back of the end zone in the closing minutes of the first half for the safety and the 5-0 lead.
The Seahawks offense finally hit a groove in the fourth quarter to make a game of it. Giants slot cornerback Darnay Holmes was called for defensive holding against Tyler Lockett on third down. Wilson and the offense were able to capitalize, capping an 11-play, 82-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to running back Chris Carson to make it a 17-12 game.
But Leonard Williams, who finished with 2.5 sacks on the day, which put his season total at 8.5 for the year, came up with a huge sack of Wilson on third down on their final drive, Seattle unable to convert.
McCoy, finished 13 out of 22 for 105 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The interception came on a tipped ball on a pass attempt to tight end Evan Engram, who finished as the Giants receiving yards and reception leader with four catches for 32 yards.
The win was the Giants’ fourth win in a row, their longest winning streak since 2016 when they won six in a row between Weeks 6-12 of that season.
With the Giants having passed this week’s test, they’ll retain their hold on first place in the NFC East, regardless of what the others in the division do.
The Eagles lost to the Green Bay Packers, which drops Philadelphia to 3-8-1 on the season. The Washington Football Team plays the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers in the early time slot on Monday night, and the Dallas Cowboys will visit the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Giants’ four-game stretch against teams with winning football records will continue next week when they return home to host the Arizona Cardinals, who this week lost to the Los Angeles Rams 38-28, their record now at 6-6.
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