Game Recap: Seattle Seahawks 'Out-Executed' in Upset Loss to New York Giants

The Seattle Seahawks crumbled in a Week 5 loss to the New York Giants, 29-20, in an all-around poor performance resulting in the team's second-straight defeat.

Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks placekicker Jason Myers (5) reacts after a blocked field goal was returned by the New York Giants for a touchdown during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

New York Giants safety Isaiah Simmons blocked Jason Myers’ would-be game-tying field goal attempt with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter and Bryce Ford-Wheaton returned it 60 yards for a touchdown, putting the final nail in the Seattle Seahawks' failed comeback attempt in a 29-20 loss on Sunday, Oct. 6 at Lumen Field.

Seattle (3-2) trailed by as much as 10 points to New York (2-3) early in the fourth quarter before the Seahawks’ offense finally came alive and drove 95 yards for a touchdown with just over two minutes left in the game.

Rookie cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett came up with a pivotal pass breakup for Seattle on the Giants’ next drive to get the ball back in the hands of Geno Smith and the Seahawks offense.

However, after a 32-yard scramble from Smith to get Seattle in field goal range, former No. 20 overall pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba dropped a would-be third down conversion to give the Seahawks a chance to go win the game with a touchdown.

Simmons left nothing to chance with his block of Myers’ kick on the next play — punctuating an ugly all-around performance by the NFC West-leading Seahawks.

"Talk about not doing the things in all three phases to win a football game. Got to give the Giants credit. They outplayed us today," Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said postgame. "And with that said, we gave ourselves a chance to tie the game and even win it there at the end of the fourth and came up short. So, the message is we don't have enough time to sit around and put our heads down. We've got to keep our heads up, take it on the chin, move forward."

The Giants controlled the ball for more than 37 minutes of the 60-minute game. Seattle allowed 175 or more yards rushing for the second time this season, with New York’s backup running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. gouging its defensive front for 129 yards on 18 carries. Daniel Jones carved up the secondary, completing 23 of 34 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns.

Offensively, Smith was sacked seven times as the unit struggled to find any tangible rhythm behind a poor performance by the offensive line and a complete abandonment of the run game. Running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet carried the ball seven times for 30 yards. Smith led the team in rushing with 72 yards on four carries.

The offense and defense were equally inept for the Seahawks, and its should-be playmakers hurt them. In addition to Smith-Njigba’s costly drop, DK Metcalf fumbled early in the third quarter to halt a promising 50-yard drive that, had Seattle scored, would have given the Seahawks a second-half lead.

Instead, the Giants marched down the field for a 77-yard touchdown drive in just four plays to re-take a 17-10 advantage. New York never surrendered the lead from there. Even without two key offensive weapons in wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Devin Singletary, the Giants looked like the team gunning for postseason contention — not Seattle.

Gift-wrapped points aren’t enough

Seattle was fortunate to head to halftime in a tie game. New York outgained Seattle 225-90 and possessed the football for nearly 22 minutes of the 30-minute first half. The Seahawks handed the ball to Walker just twice, picking up two yards. Smith had under 100 yards passing.

The Giants, on the other hand, had three drives of eight or more plays. Seattle was fortunate to force a fumble at their own goal line on 4th and Goal to end New York’s first offensive drive of the game — turning the Giants’ 16-play, 79-yard drive into a 102-yard fumble return touchdown by safety Rayshawn Jenkins and a 7-0 lead.

New York rallied to take a three-point advantage late in the second quarter. Seattle got the ball back with 21 seconds remaining in the half and put together the most productive string of plays they had all game. A 28-yard completion from Smith to Tyler Lockett set up a 43-yard field goal for Jason Myers, and he converted.

Getting those kinds of favors in the NFL can win you football games. For the Seahawks, it was only enough to keep the margin on the scoreboard smaller against an opponent they were favored to beat by seven points.

The defense was bad, again, and the offense matched it

In a losing effort against the Detroit Lions in Week 4, the Seahawks piled up 516 yards of offense and 38 first downs. They averaged 6.6 yards per play. It was a performance that felt encouraging for the offense’s ceiling, regardless of the loss to a good football team.

Seattle sputtered out of the gate versus the Giants and only slightly recovered — finishing with 333 total yards on an average of just 5.7 yards per play. The Seahawks had 90 yards of offense at halftime.

"We played bad. That's the reality. Played bad," Smith said after the game. "I don't think we executed well. I thought we came out slow. [We] talk about starting fast. That's not how we want to start. Turned the ball over, not finishing drives. I mean, all the above. That will get you beat in the NFL on any given Sunday."

Most of the blame falls on the offensive line — which had maybe its worst performance of the season — the wide receivers and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Smith maneuvered into a few sacks, so you can’t take all of the blame off of him. But the unit, as a whole, has to iron out its deficiencies.

Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) celebrates following a fourth down sack against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Non-existent run game

Grubb and Seattle showed a complete avoidance of the run game from the first offensive snap. Walker and Charbonnet combined to rush for nearly 6.8 yards per carry against the Lions on 14 carries, and they received half as many carries against the Giants.

"You always expect to run the ball," Walker said postgame. But the Seahawks didn't.

The result was Smith and the wide receivers having to do everything themselves. Smith finished 28 of 40 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown. Metcalf and Smith-Njigba committed two huge mistakes that arguably cost Seattle’s offense a shot to win the game.

"We definitely need to get the run game going. The way the game started we were thinking about trying to get Geno going early," Macdonald said. "The game started to kind of get out of hand there. We had to get going. You're right, we need to get the run game going, we need to get Ken [Walker III] the ball more."

About the defense

Injuries exist. Cornerback Riq Woolen and edge rushers Uchenna Nwosu and Derick Hall all exited the game at one point or another. Seattle was already without defensive tackle Byron Murphy II and edge rusher Boye Mafe.

But those excuses only get a team so far. Leonard Williams and Jerome Baker were back. The defense still couldn’t stop what the Giants wanted to do.

"I think it came down to execution," Seahawks safety Julian Love said. "I don’t think in any phase we played good enough today to win. Obviously, we had a shot, kind of, there at the end. You can’t win in this league if you don’t play well.”

Over the first three weeks of the season (all victories), Seattle allowed 746 total yards of offense. The Seahawks have allowed 809 yards in just the past two games (both losses). Opponents were 12 of 46 on third-down conversions over the first three games and are 10 for 22 over the last two games.

"We got outplayed and out-executed today. That's what happened," Macdonald said. "I thought we made some good adjustments as the game went on. I'm not sure what the numbers are saying, but when we did create third downs in the first half, we didn't get off the field ... So it's kind of all the way around, all three phases, all three levels of the defense, myself included."

Between poor tackling, a lack of execution overall and being bad at defending both the run and pass, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has his hands full entering a short week of practice. It starts with Macdonald, who was hired to improve this unit.

Up next

The Seahawks host the San Francisco 49ers (2-3) in a rivalry game on Thursday, Oct. 10 at Lumen Field. It will be Seattle’s third game in 11 days.

San Francisco is coming off a 24-23 upset loss to the Arizona Cardinals — also a division rivalry. Both teams will be looking to bounce back from disappointing Week 5 performances.