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Photo: Instagram - @GmenGalaxy
In the early weeks, the Giants were being laughed at and insulted. Coming into Week 13, the Giants were first-place NFC East. With a chip on their shoulder, but the haters in their mentions, they traveled to Seattle to play the first-place NFC West Seahawks. In any circumstance, Seattle is the heavy favorite in this matchup. The Seahawks have always relied on their "12th man", but with no fans at the stadium, the Giants brought their own 12, and that was Colt McCoy. All eyes were on the quarterback situation after Daniel Jones went down last week. The Giants were super lucky that Jones's hamstring injury wasn't anything major, and he actually was on his feet this week. There was a slight chance Jones would start, but to be safe for the near future, the ball was handed to veteran McCoy. His last win came back in 2014 when he was the starter for Washington. With that being said, nobody, I mean nobody, expected the Giants to win this game.
A huge upset win for the Giants, now put them in sole possession of first place in the NFC East. The double-digit underdogs (SEA -11), gave Seattle their first home loss of the season and shook up the NFC playoff picture. What a performance on both sides of the field. The defense rattled MVP candidate, Russell Wilson, the run game was strong, and Coach Judge keeps stacking those wins. In a game that many felt the Giants should have lost, they turned around and proved to the NFL that they shouldn't be slept on. The final score was 17-12, the New York Football Giants. A lot to breakdown, so here is a full recap of the goods and the bad.
Pros
Kudos to Colt!
When McCoy was named the starter, it seemed that the Giant's chances to win fell. However, Colt held his own, and his leadership and performance helped secured the win. McCoy finished 13-for-22 for 105 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, which was due to an Evan Engram mishandle. Not bad for the nine-year vet. Nobody expected a superstar performance, but he came up big in this time of need.
Late Rounders and Undrafted Free Agents
When it comes to rookies, all the expectation comes from the first-rounders (as expected). For the Giants, a lot of young talent is coming from the lat round selections or guys who went undrafted. Shane Lemieux and Matt Peart logged over 50 snaps and were formidable upfront. Darnay Holmes snagged his first career interception, and Mr. Irrelevant, Tae Crowder, secured his first sack. Cam Brown and Carter Coughlin made key plays to slow down Seattle's offense. The youngins' have been balling out, and their work has not gone unnoticed.
The Big Bad Defense
What a joy it is to watch the Giants be dominating on defense. They tallied five sacks today and shutdown the forceful Seahawks offense. Their biggest strength was no match for what Patrick Graham had in store.
James Bradberry held DK Metcalf to only 80 yards and zero touchdowns. Blake Martinez was all over the field making impact plays. Jabrill Peppers was stat-stuffing with multiple tackles and pass deflections.
But special Shoutout goes to Leonard Williams. Everyone scratched their heads when Gettleman traded a 3rd rounder to the Jets for him last season. He had a slow 2019, but this season he has been on a tear. His stock is rising and is working his way to a big extension. He had himself a day on defense, sacking Russell Wilson 2.5 times and hitting him 5 more. He also had 2 tackles for losses and brought his yearly sack total to 8.5 (a personal record).
Photo: USA Today / Giants Wire
Hog Mollies and The Dynamic Duo of Gallman and Morris
With Daniel Jones out, the gameplan needed to be focused on the ground-and-pound offense. The team averaged 5.2 yards after contact per rush. Seattle's defense struggled to bring down Gallman in the open. The Giants also topped 100 yards rushing for the seventh straight game (190).
The O-Line let up two sacks but generated a dominant rush game. Andrew Thomas has received a lot of criticism, but he is heavily improving each week. He surrendered nothing to the Seattle defense, which was vital to this week's success. Lemieux and Peart held their own as well. This allowed the pair of running backs to have themselves a day.
The final stat line for the pair of running
Wayne Gallman: 16 carries,135 yards.
Alfred Morris: 8 carries, 39 yards, 1 TD. 1 catch, 6 yards, 1 TD.
Cons and Improvements
Evan Engram
Driving down to the endzone, a pass intended for Engram was botched and tipped into the hands of Quandre Diggs, who took it over 30 yards. It was frustrated to watch, and Evan Engram has been responsible for multiple interceptions and drops. He made it up with a couple of catches, but his play is killing the Giants more than helping them.
Special Teams (not named Gano)
Gano has been a delight, and the special teams unit was solid throughout the season. But in back-to-back weeks, a costly mistake took place. The Seahawks somehow blocked a punt deep in Giants territory, and the ball just made it out of the back of the end zone before Seattle could fall on it, resulting in a safety, to put them up 5-0. Stuff like this is inexcusable, and Coach Judge will make sure that doesn't happen again.
What's Next?
The Giants on a four-game win-streak, head back home to face the Arizona Cardinals, who have lost three in a row. The momentum is high for the G-Men, who will have Jones back at the helm. If the Giants continue their lockdown defense, and clean offensive play, New York should keep the wins stacking!
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