Giants-Seahawks: 5 plays that helped the Giants win

Gee, I wonder if a blocked field goal is on this list?

There were several critical plays in the New York Giants 29-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Below are five plays, or sequences of plays, that helped the Giants win.

Play(s) 1: Darius Slayton’s ascension

Deonte Banks punched the ball away from D.K. Metcalf early in the third quarter. The Giants took full advantage of the sudden change and attacked Seattle deep. Daniel Jones, who has struggled passing deep this season, hit Darius Slayton from the far-hash in stride:

Jones does a great job with his eyes to hold the safety. He is looking to the boundary through his drop-back, which holds the middle safety in place, before hitting his back foot and letting it rip. Unfortunately, the NFL is policing pointing after the catch, presumably due to it looking like a violent gesture. The Giants took the 15-yard penalty and Jones found Slayton for another 30 yards and six points two plays later:

This is a fantastically designed play when it’s executed correctly. Head coach Daboll has tried a similar tactic through the first few weeks, and it almost always resulted in near disaster. The tactic is shifting Jones’ launch-point away from the intended target; Jones delivered this one perfectly.

Play 2: Special teams!

Somehow, after the Giants had a dominating performance all game, the Seahawks still found themselves in a position to tie the game and send it to overtime. Geno Smith scrambled for 30 yards with a 1:40 left in the game to set Jason Myers up at the New York Giants’ 37-yard line. Isaiah Simmons had other plans:

Daboll talked about his special teams’ coordinator, Michael Ghobrial, and how he devised a play that resulted in the blocked 47-yard attempt:

Play(s) 3: Seven sacks

The Giants defensive line manhandled Seattle’s protection all game. Dexter Lawrence had three sacks; D.J. Davidson recorded two sacks; Brian Burns had one sack; Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Kayvon Thibodeaux each had a half-sack. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen employed an aggressive approach against Ryan Grubb’s offense, and it worked. Here are three of the Giants’ sacks, including Brian Burns’ huge sack on fourth down:

Play 4: Banks are closed

Questions about Deonte Banks as a top cornerback have persisted through the short season. The second-year player has struggled this season, surrendering touchdowns in three of the first four games. Seahawks’ WR D.K. Metcalf had 366 receiving yards entering this Week 5 matchup. Not only did Banks hold him to four catches for 55 yards (on seven targets), but he also forced this pivotal fumble when the score was tied on the Seahawks’ first drive of the second half:

Banks forced the fumble when the score was tied at 10 in the beginning of the third quarter. Two plays prior, Smith found Tyler Lockett for 33 yards, as Seahawk momentum started building. The Giants need Banks to play like the number one corner they drafted him to be — he did just that on Sunday.

Play 5: Another disastrous start

The Giants find ways to lose situations in the most bizarre fashion. After a disastrous first play on offense, Daniel Jones found himself in a third-and-17 situation. Two well-executed screen passes to Eric Gray over the next two plays net the Giants 37 yards. The Giants offense stabilized the hostile environment and controlled the clock for over ten minutes — exactly what they want to do to Geno Smith and Seattle’s offense.

Jones went 6 of 7 for 72 yards. New York got down to the 1-yard line and the rushing attack was stuffed a few times. The Giants found themselves in a fourth-and-1. New York rushed with Gray who extended for the goal line, fumbled, and the fumble was returned for a Seattle touchdown:

At the time, it did not seem like the Giants could catch a break. Ten minutes of efficient and effective offensive football, yet points get added to the opponent’s scoreboard. Gray fumbled in catastrophic fashion at the beginning of both Giants’ wins; coincidence?

The Giants don’t make it easy

The Giants dominated the first half of the game. The Seahawks had just 15 plays and 45 yards prior to Seattle receiving the football with 21 seconds left in the first-half. The Giants’ defense blitzed, pressured, and hit Geno Smith, while the Giants’ offense stayed on script and moved the football.

Wan’Dale Robinson had a third-and-2 drop on the 11th play of the Giants’ 12-play, 58-yard drive near the end of the first half. The throw was a bit behind Robinson, but was certainly catchable. Greg Joseph booted a 38-yard field goal, and the Seahawks received the football, and kicked a game-tying field goal to end the half.

If Robinson held onto the ball, Seattle doesn’t have time to drive down the field and kick three points of its own. It’s plausible that the Giants score a touchdown and take a 14-7 lead into the half. I would say the worst case scenerio would just be a 10-7 lead, but the Giants seem to defy these worst case scenarios. Either way, the lack of connection on third-and-2 allowed Seattle’s offense to get in a groove and earn three points before the half’s conclusion.

Robinson had two third down drops in the game. He finished with six catches for 36 yards on nine targets with a touchdown; here’s that touchdown, for good measure:

Still, the Giants won this football by only nine points — I’ll take it, don’t get me wrong — but the score doesn’t reflect the dominance the Giants imposed on the Seahawks in their home.