Giants belittled
SEATTLE – It’s the Giants, for one thing. And the Giants-Seahawks for another, so there was some potential for late-game madness, even after Seattle thoroughly dominated the first three quarters.
Still, it took some doing to introduce drama into this one. Seattle handled the Giants every way possible in building a 39-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but the joy ride ended when New York scored four unanswered touchdowns, leaving the Seahawks to hang on for a 42-30 victory Sunday in front of 68,161 at Qwest Field.
The Seahawks improved to 3-0 heading into a Sunday night showdown with 3-0 Chicago at Soldier Field. New York, which overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off Philadelphia in overtime last week, slipped to 1-2.
It was another wacky Seattle-New York contest. Last year the Giants scored a late touchdown and two-point conversion to force overtime, but Jay Feely missed three potential game-winning field goals as the Seahawks escaped with a 24-21 win.
“I don’t think our intensity let down necessarily, but we gave them huge plays,” said quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who tossed five touchdown passes, but two fourth-quarter interceptions – one that was returned for a touchdown – to help fuel New York’s comeback. “We gave them interceptions for touchdowns, interceptions that put them in the red zone.
“You can’t do that. That’s something we have to address and fix.”
In the first three quarters, not much fixing was necessary. Seattle ended its offensive slump from its first two games by picking up 229 total yards in the first half. The defense continued its superior early season work, holding the Giants without a first down on their first three possessions, two of which ended with safety Ken Hamlin picking off Eli Manning’s passes.
“He’s back, he’s full effect, running around making hits, getting picks,” cornerback Marcus Trufant said of Hamlin, who missed most of last season with a fractured skull. “He’s having fun again.”
Seattle capitalized on its favorable field position with a 21-point first quarter, equaling the franchise record, and a 35-point half, the third highest output in team history. In the process, Seattle unveiled four-receiver sets, helping break in Deion Branch, who played for the first time since joining the team a couple of weeks ago.
“The Giants had no way to know that we were going to come out and do that,” Hasselbeck said. “I’m sure it caught them off guard a little bit early. We were out there running runs that we’ve never run and throwing routes that we’d never shown them.”
Receivers Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram, Nate Burleson and Branch combined for 18 catches and four touchdowns. Jackson had seven catches, including a pair of touchdowns.
“The more weapons you have, the more powerful you’re going to be,” Burleson said.
Jackson’s second TD catch hiked Seattle’s lead to 42-3 late in the third quarter, but the Giants refused to give up.
Manning, who threw three interceptions, finally heated up, directing a 79-yard scoring drive. Coach Mike Holmgren acknowledged that he considered resting Hasselbeck in the fourth quarter, but opted to keep him in the game. Two interceptions later, Seattle’s lead had melted to 42-24 with 9:30 remaining.
“The irony there is you have your starting quarterback in, who really has managed the game beautifully, and that’s really all I wanted him to do down the stretch,” Holmgren said. “Then, the couple times I call pass plays they blow up on me.
“For those of you who think I’m too conservative in that situation, to heck with you,” added Holmgren, drawing laughter from the media.
The Giants scored again with 2:42 left, but Jimmy Williams batted the ensuing onside kick out of bounds to give Seattle possession.
“We got off to a slow start for the second, maybe third week in a row,” Giants receiver Amani Toomer said. “It’s something that’s got to change. The comeback didn’t mean much of anything because we were (39 points) in the hole.”