Takeaways from Seahawks 24-3 victory over Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 02: Devon Witherspoon #21 of the Seattle Seahawks returns an interception 97-yards for a touchdown during the third quarter against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on October 02, 2023 in East Rutherford, N

The Seattle Seahawks unleashed a complete and total defensive assault upon the hapless New York Giants on Monday night.

Devon Witherspoon had a 97-yard interception return for a touchdown, and the Seahawks matched a team record with 11 sacks of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones as Seattle earned a 24-3 victory over New York.

"We’re just getting going," head coach Pete Carroll said. "We’re just putting it together. A night like this for our defense to play that explosively. I can’t remember seeking double-digit sacks."

Witherspoon, Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks and Uchenna Nwosu each had two sacks in the game, and Mario Edwards Jr. had a strip-sack of Jones that set up DK Metcalf's 6-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter. Quandre Diggs added a second interception in the fourth quarter to finish with three turnovers in total in the game. 

"This was a great night for Clint [Hurtt] and the guys on defense," Carroll said. "The mixes and the changeups, the variety of ways that we came after him, used everybody on the field just about. Hitting the calls at the right time so the guys could create some explosive plays out of it. You've got to give Clint a ton of credit. 

"Pass rush isn't just the guys up front. Everybody contributes to it. Coverage, and that's where the backers play a role in that as well, and that was a great illustration of that tonight."

The Giants have been a train wreck offensively through the first month of the NFL season and the Seahawks made sure to keep their misery flowing with Monday night's performance.

Mario Edwards Jr. had a strip-sack of Jones that set up DK Metcalf's 6-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter. Quandre Diggs added a second interception in the fourth quarter as Seattle finishd with three turnovers in total in the game.

Seattle also stuffed Jones on a quarterback sneak for a turnover on downs in the first quarter, and Nwosu had a strip-sack of Jones that the Giants managed to recover as part of the standout performance.

"We know it was coming," Nwosu said. "The week we had last week, you know, 36 pressures (against Carolina). I think that was like a record for the week that week. We knew we had the talent. We knew it was coming. We knew if we did what we did last week, stop the run, we would do the same thing this week and was able to get home more."

The Seahawks offense didn't have to do much against the Giants. And that's OK given the circumstances.

Geno Smith had his knee wrenched on a tackle in the second quarter and was hobbled the rest of the game. He briefly had to defer to backup Drew Lock before returning to the game for the season half.

Guards Damien Lewis (ankle) and Phil Haynes (calf) both left the game with injuries, which in turn forced center Evan Brown to shift to left guard and rookie Olu Oluwatimi to fill in at center. With those moves, the Seahawks had backups at essentially all five spots on the offensive line to finish the game in New York.

Ken Walker III finished with 79 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries to carry the offensive effort for Seattle. Noah Fant also had a 51-yard catch-and-run of a Lock pass that led to Walker's touchdown late in the first half.

The Seahawks have fully recovered from the opening week dud at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams to reach their bye week with a 3-1 record.

Here are the takeaways from the victory over the Giants:

– Devon Witherspoon introduces himself in spectacular fashion.

Devon Witherspoon – the No. 5 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft –  had a coming out party for the ages on Monday night.

Witherspoon had a 97-yard interception return touchdown, two sacks of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, and seven tackles for good measure.

Oh, and it all came in Witherspoon's first game playing the nickel cornerback spot for the team.

"I've never thought he wouldn't play like this," Carroll said. This is why we took him, to be active and to show that he gets this game of football and it comes easy to him and he's an explosive, dynamic player."

Witherspoon had to hand the nickel cornerback duties to the injuries to Artie Burns (hamstring), Coby Bryant (toe) and Tre Brown (concussion). Seattle had worked him at the nickel spot during much of training camp before his own hamstring injury sidelined him for all three preseason games. Witherspoon still started the game and handled the outside cornerback spot on the left side when the team was in a base defensive look. But when they needed a third cornerback, Witherspoon jumped inside and looked fully at home.

"First career pick is a pick-six on Monday Night Football, it just don't get no better," he said.

Witherspoon jumped an errant pass from Jones intended for Perris Campbell and was off to the races. Witherspoon crossed over on a chasing Jones and left him falling to the ground as he sailed off for a touchdown that gave Seattle a 21-3 lead. The Giants had moved to the Seattle 5-yard line and were threatening to close the gap to 14-10 with over a quarter left to play. Instead, Witherspoon's interception effectively ended the Giants hopes.

"He was right in the right spot and just nailed it," Carroll said.

The 97-yard touchdown is the second-longest in franchise history. Bobby Wagner had a 98-yard interception return touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in Dec. 2, 2018.

– 11 sacks ties a franchise record.

The 11 sacks recorded by the Seahawks set a Monday Night Football record and tied a record for the most in franchise history.

The only other time Seattle had 11 sacks in a game came against the Los Angeles Raiders on Dec. 8, 1986 in a 37-0 victory in the Kingdome.

Witherspoon, Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks and Uchenna Nwosu each had two sacks in the game. Edwards, Boye Mafe and Myles Adams each had sacks as well to make up the record-matching performance.

"I think each game defensively we’ve been getting better," Wagner said. "We’ve been doing a good job stopping (the) run, but the one thing was just applying pressure. I think the last game we had a lot of pressures but not as many sacks. I felt like this game we turned those pressures into sacks."

It's the first time Seattle had at least eight sacks in a game since a Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers in 2012 that would be more notable remembered for Golden Tate's "Fail Mary" touchdown in a 14-12 Seattle win.

– Drew Lock gets first regular season chance and leads TD drive.

When Geno Smith had to leave the game to have his knee evaluated late in the second quarter, it gave Drew Lock the chance to play in a regular season game for the first time in two seasons with the Seahawks.

Lock handled the situation quite well for Seattle. He had an 11-yard scramble to get the drive moving. He completed 2-of-6 passes on the drive with the 51-yard completion to Noah Fant setting up a touchdown that gave the Seahawks a 14-3 halftime lead.

"It’s great for him to get out there," Carroll said. "He was a little jittery at first, but he did great. Just getting out there and playing some football, it's so valuable, so the next time he goes in. … It was great to put him back out there."

Smith had to get his knee evaluated in the sideline medical tent before making an early trip back to the locker room area before halftime. He returned for the start of the third quarter and played until the game was no longer in doubt. Lock then came back into the game to finish the fourth quarter for Seattle.

"Oh, man. I was so excited for Drew," Smith said of Lock. "And like I always say, he’s a starter in this league and he’s a really, really good quarterback. So, kind of what I expected of him. I expect him to go out there and do his thing like he always does. The great part about of is that we work together and the belief that he has in me, I have the same amount of belief with him, and I know he’s going to great things when his opportunity arrives, which he did today."

– Jamal Adams return to lineup was unfortunately brief.

The much anticipated return of Jamal Adams to the lineup for the Seahawks defense was over before the end of the Giants opening drive.

Adams took a blow to the head from the knee of Daniel Jones as he scrambled for an 8-yard gain five minutes into the contest. Adams was noticeably shaken from the shot and went to the sideline injury tent for evaluation. Adams was eventually ruled out due to a concussion and did not return to the game.

"He had a concussion and couldn’t play. By the time they got all the assessments done, he couldn't play," Carroll said.

Adams had two tackles in the short time he was in the game. He also had a pressure on Jones that forced the Giants quarterback to scramble.

But it certainly wasn't the return Adams hoped for. He was shown on the television broadcast frustrated on the sidelines after being evaluated in the injury tent.

Adams will have an extra week with the upcoming bye to get through the concussion. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him back in the lineup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

"He's going to be OK," Carroll said. "He got kicked in the head, and so he misses this game. But the preparation to get him to this, then with the week coming off, he's going to be fine, I'm sure, and he’ll be back out there. It’s just a little glitch right now."

Bye lands at a good time for Seahawks

A bye week the second weekend of October looks terrible on paper when you look at the schedule in June.

But given the number of nicks, bruises and injuries the Seahawks will be dealing with coming out of Monday night's win, it feels like a pretty good time for Seattle to take a break.

"I didn't like it before the season started but now with the injuries and the dinged up players that we have right now, I think it's a perfect time for us to have a bye week," Metcalf said.

Smith will get the week to rest his knee. Adams and cornerback Tre Brown will have an extra week to return from their concussions. Left tackle Charles Cross and cornerback Coby Bryant will have very good chances to be back in the lineup after missing multiple games with toe injuries. Wide receiver Dareke Young will be eligible to return to practice off the injured reserve list as well.

Outside of the season-ending shoulder injury to rookie defensive end Mike Morris, none of the team's injuries are incredibly significant so far. Sure, Cross and tackle Abe Lucas have missed multiple games after being hurt in the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, but they're both expected to be back in the somewhat near future. Lucas won't be eligible to return until after the Week 6 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

But the sheer quantity of injuries Seattle is dealing with are significant and a week to recover will be much appreciated by the locker room.

Bonus

Yeesh, the Giants are really, really bad.

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