NY Giants give up four Marshawn Lynch TDs, fall apart late in 38
SEATTLE - For weeks, he'd been cautious, careful Eli Manning, the epitome of a West Coast quarterback, efficient and patient and talking only of avoiding big mistakes.
And then the Giants' quarterback tried to make one big play in a tie game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, tried to make one gunslinging, gutsy pass over Richard Sherman to Odell Beckham Jr. with 57 seconds left in the third quarter at a surprisingly quiet CenturyLink Field.
And all that did was set the Giants on track for their fourth straight implosion, this one a painful, 38-17 setback that they seemed so winnable early on, a loss that all but erased their faint dreams of battling back into contention, dropping them to 3-6 on a season that started with so much promise.
Memo to Jerry Reese: This is why the Giants offense hasn't been very aggressive in 2014. On first-and-10 from his own 39, with the score tied, 17-17, Manning dropped back and tried to make something happen, tried to be something more than conservative. So he lofted a deep ball for Beckham, who had Sherman in tight coverage, creating a jump ball situation that Beckham could only fight to tap away.
And that pass landed in the waiting arms of safety Earl Thomas, who dashed from the end zone to the Seattle 42. Seven plays later, with 12:47 left in the game, Marshawn Lynch rumbled into his end zone for the third of his four TDs, giving the Seahawks their first lead of the game and opening the floodgates.
This is where the Giants are. On rainy Sunday afternoon, they forced three Seahawk turnovers, held Russell Wilson in check, and led, 17-14, at halftime. They watched Beckham prove himself against Richard Sherman, making five catches for 92 yards in a bustout first half. They'd seen Manning calmly direct the offense in the first half, barely even worried about the whole Legion of Boom.
But the Giants, depleted by injury all season and still short on playmakers,just couldn't overcome Manning's first turnover in months. His interception to Thomas was his first pick in 176 pass attempts, his first in five games, his first since Sept. 25 in Washington. And that was all it took to torpedo the Giants, who would surrender three fourth-quarter rushing scores to Seattle, letting a close game turn into a blowout.
The loss was hardly Manning's fault, because there were so many other mistakes too, from the defense that allowed the Seahawks to set a team-record in rushing yards, rumbling for more than 300 yards on the ground, to several back-breaking penalties on offense. But his pick was the play that marked the end for the Giants on this Sunday.
And to think, things had gotten off to such a good start. Sure, the Giants had punted after their opening drive for the ninth straight game and Seattle had marched 80 yards on just six plays (including drive-opening completions of 23 and 32 yards) for a one-yard Lynch scoring plunge. And then there had been another fruitless Giants drive.
But then there were so many signs of life. Russell Wilson opened Seattle's next drive by throwing an interception on first-and-10 from his own 24, when Zack Bowman cut in front of a pass to rookie Paul Richardson. And four plays later, Manning found Preston Parker for a 10-yard TD, tying the score, 7-7.
And then the Giants would grab the lead, early in the second quarter, Beckham making Sherman look mortal. The young receiver ended the first quarter by beating the loudmouthed Seattle corner on a double move to haul in a Manning rainbow to the Seattle 36, and after a Williams rush, Beckham was at it again. This time, working from the slot, he chased down another deep Manning pass to the Seattle 3. That set up a three-yard TD from Williams in which he bulled over a Seahawk defender, then was practically thrown over the goal line by Giants center J.D. Walton, putting the Giants up, 14-7.
There was a chance at so much more, too, after Jameel McClain forced a Robert Turbin fumble and Antrel Rolle recovered on the next possession, giving Manning the ball at midfield. But then Ben McAdoo turned conservative, calling a run play and three short passes in between aleading to another Giants punt. Wilson, leading a read-option-powered attack, would launch a 15-play, 85-yard drive that ended with Lynch's second score and tied the game.
But the Giants would still grab the halftime lead on a 41-yard Josh Brown field goal to go up, 17-14, and they still seemed to have a chance.
But oh, that one Manning mistake.
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