SEATTLE – The noise inside Lumen Field for 58 minutes and 55 seconds was deafening Sunday afternoon.
So what is the New York Giants“Isaiah Simmons heard when he jumped over Seattle lineman Laken Tomlinson, then jumped as high as he could again to smash a potential game-tying field goal from 47 yards out in the final moments?
“What did I hear? A dull sound of the ball hitting my hand, that’s all,” Simmons told NorthJersey.com, smiling as teammate Kayvon Thibodeaux laughed at the question. “So Bryce [Ford-Wheaton] called ‘Ball Game’ – I didn’t hear much about it after that.”
The silence of the 12, a typically raucous home crowd left stunned and in disbelief, was the softest sound the Giants had made in some time. This was the biggest regular season win in Brian Daboll’s three years as head coach, there’s no doubt about it, and Simmons teamed up with Ford-Wheaton to hold on.
Simmons’ block on Jason Myers’ field goal attempt bounced once and straight into the arms of Ford-Wheaton, who recovered the ball and scored, a 60-yard punctuation mark for the Giants’ 29-20 win over the Seahawks Sunday.
Here’s the problem: The Giants can’t erase the missed opportunities that led to losses to NFC East foes Washington and Dallas, two games in which they had a legitimate chance to reverse the outcome, but did not succeed.
The deck was indeed stacked against Daboll and the Giants against Seattle, a playoff team from a year ago that entered after winning three of its first four and appears destined for the playoffs again.
Malik Nabers, the Giants’ best offensive player, was at home in New Jersey, still in concussion protocol.
Devin Singletary, their primary runner, was unable to play due to a groin injury.
It was expected that if the Giants lost for the fourth time in five games, the season would suddenly become a referendum not only on Daniel Jones at quarterback, but also on Daboll as head coach and Joe Schoen as general manager. In reality, there is an internal belief in what Daboll and Schoen are trying to build, and that was the case before this game.
There was no panic, just the urgency to play well, according to right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor.
Rookie running back Tyrone Tracy rushed for a career-high 129 yards in his first start. Darius Slayton caught eight passes from Jones for 122 yards and a touchdown. Jones completed 23 of 34 passes for 257 yards and a quarterback rating of 109.6.
A maligned secondary was led by Tae Banks, who faced a “murder row” of elite receivers in the first month, drawing criticism for failing to finish plays, including from his own coach, Jerome Henderson, who admitted to challenging the runner-up. pro year for his efforts on a CeeDee Lamb touchdown in the final game.
Seahawks star DK Metcalf saw a lot of Banks and had just four catches on seven targets for 55 yards, just a year after teaching him what the Giants’ 2023 first-round pick called “lessons rookie” in a 24-3 triumph in Seattle.
Perhaps most impressive: The Giants offensive line, located in one of the loudest buildings in the NFL, committed no penalties before the snap.
“The challenge is always to silence the doubters,” Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns told NorthJersey.com. “It is even more important to make sure that no one here doubts this team, and now we are preparing for [Cincinnati next Sunday night at MetLife Stadium]”.
The patience with which the Giants held back on that field goal block call is testament to that.
Daboll said Giants special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial identified a hole he thought he could exploit, and that centered on Simmons’ ability to jump over Tomlinson’s down block. The Giants lined Simmons up next to Dexter Lawrence, and when Tomlinson blocked, Simmons took the crease and made things happen.
There was a temptation to go for a play earlier in the game — Myers had scored two baskets before his final try — but Ghobrial implored Daboll to wait. Don’t drop the hammer too soon, he argued.
When the Seahawks brought out Myers for this 47-yard attempt with 65 seconds left, the Giants sounded the alarm.
“I knew I was going to be able to get pretty high. My biggest asset was being able to double rebound,” Simmons said. “So land and come right back up. There’s no time for anything else. Once I feel clear, the only thing on my mind I’m telling myself is touch and go, touch and go, touch and go I guess my long jump skills came into play there.
Giants star Dexter Lawrence had three sacks, dominating up front as he has for three seasons in his ascension to the position. Burns had another fourth down in the fourth quarter that buried a crucial drive for the Seahawks.
The Giants’ 22 sacks as a team in five games are the second-most in franchise history (26 in 1985), according to NFL Research.
“Overall, I understand records, but a record doesn’t always define who you are and what you can do,” Burns said. “I feel like a few of our matches have been cut short due to unfortunate events. But at the same time, I’m a firm believer in not letting that affect and define who you are. It’s kinda what this game is all about. I’m pretty sure everyone was against us in this one.
And just when things seemed to be going right again against the Giants, Simmons and that sweet sound of silence sparked the kind of block party that Big Blue hopes to build in the future.
This article was originally published on NorthJersey.com: How the New York Giants Blocked Out the Noise for Brian Daboll’s Biggest Win
