Halftime Observations: Seahawks 5, Giants 0

With Russell Wilson and the offense struggling to muster much of anything, Seattle pitched a shut out and used a late safety from a blocked punt by safety Ryan Neal to enter the break nursing a five-point lead over New York.

Despite struggling to sustain drives throughout the first half, the Seahawks turned in another outstanding defensive effort to go into halftime with a 5-0 lead over the Giants at Lumen Field.

Completing 12 out of 20 passes, Russell Wilson finished the half with 108 yards and no touchdowns while being sacked twice. Defensively, Quandre Diggs picked off a pass late in the first quarter to set a new career-high and erase potential points off the board for New York.

Three quick takeaways from the first two quarters of play in Seattle:

1. Seattle has ran the ball effectively, but the team needs to emphasize it more out of the break with Wilson off his A-game.

Going up against the NFL's ninth-ranked scoring defense, a more conservative game in terms of relying more on the short passing game makes sense, particularly with the Seahawks being down to their third string right tackle. However, this approach hasn't necessarily worked thus far, as the Giants have done an excellent job mixing up their pre-snap looks and getting timely pressure on Wilson. With his team off schedule most of the half, the star quarterback has been off, airmailing several passes as the team has gone 2 for 7 on third down conversion opportunities. Meanwhile, Carson has been running like a tank, plowing through the Giants for 45 yards on just seven carries, while the offensive line has found success creating running lanes up front. To help Wilson get cooking in the second half, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer should prioritize mixing in the run game a bit more.

2. Even with greatly diminished snaps, Ryan Neal continues to be a revelation.

Though he has only been playing a few snaps per game since Jamal Adams returned, Neal hasn't stopped making clutch plays for the Seahawks when he's been given the chance to do so. On the Giants lone offensive drive exhibiting any promise, Colt McCoy advanced his team down to the Seattle 17-yard line and faced 3rd and 8. Evan Engram came open on a curl and McCoy put the ball on his hands, but Neal blasted the tight end and got a piece of the ball, creating a deflection. In the perfect place at the perfect time, safety Diggs picked it off to wipe at least three points off the board. Later in the half with New York pinned deep in its own territory, Neal shot through the middle of the offensive line and blocked a punt, which rolled out of the back of the end zone for a safety to put Seattle up five.

3. A feisty pass rush has kept the Giants from putting any points on the board.

With 19 sacks as a team over the past four games, the Seahawks continued to harass Colt McCoy behind a suspect offensive line throughout the first two quarters. The Giants can't run any plays with long-developing routes because there simply isn't time in the pocket and on the few times they have tried to throw downfield, the pass rush has gotten home in the few opportunities presented to them. Benson Mayowa notched his fourth sack of the season, while Adams rocketed off the edge on a blitz and bulled over running back Dion Lewis before bringing McCoy down for a key third down sack. The star safety now has 7.5 sacks in eight games for Seattle, continuing to prove he was well worth the price tag to acquire from the New York Jets this offseason.