EAST RUTHERFORD – Brian Daboll walked into the locker room and he was far from satisfied.
Maybe his New York Giants expected a soft touch from their players’ coach, who watched his team dominate the first half of Sunday’s game against legitimate playoff contenders the Seahawks on the road in Seattle.
Daboll generally keeps things as calm as possible at halftime, ensuring the focus remains on what needs to change, what needs to continue and allowing the team itself to settle into the game and find your own way.
Not this time.
“Honestly, [Daboll] came here yelling at us, saying we couldn’t do the [expletive] “What we were doing,” Giants star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence recalled after the eventual 29-20 victory over the Seahawks. “It wasn’t a lot of praise, it was more like, ‘Let’s dig in and finish this game.’ “He was a little more excited than usual. It was good, we fed off that and kept playing.”
There were too many falls in the first half. The defense allowed Geno Smith and the Seahawks to drive the length of the court in the final seconds of the second quarter for a field goal that tied the score at halftime.
And Daboll brought the fire. If the Giants played the game as is, they might fail like they did in the near misses against Washington and Dallas. The entire organization looks back with regret on these matches last month.
Not this time.
Daboll called an offensive masterpiece without its best player, Malik Nabers, and its best runner, Devin Singletary. The defensive front dominated behind Lawrence’s three sacks, and the secondary — derided for its effort and execution for weeks — stepped up when things mattered most.
And then there was the special teams circuit that put the game away: Isaiah Simmons’ blocked field goal and Bryce Ford-Wheaton’s 60-yard return on that block for a touchdown that sealed the victory.
“You can’t follow the storyline of the week,” Daniel Jones said, adding: “It’s our job to know what’s real and to solve the problems that are real, and also to ignore the things that aren’t real. are not.”
Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly for the Giants (2-3) as they prepare for Sunday night’s game at MetLife Stadium against the 1-4 Cincinnati Bengals:
THE GOOD
The Giants have a competent offensive line…really!
In Seattle, with the 12 roaring early, the Giants offensive line committed zero commits – repeat, ZERO! – pre-snap penalties. There were also no withholding penalties. Rookie Tyrone Tracy rushed for 129 yards in his first start, and Jones — after being sacked 11 times by the Seahawks last year — was hit just five times with three sacks.
Best performance: This trio hasn’t reached its ceiling yet, and second-year center John Michael Schmitz is raising the level of his game every week.
Daniel Jones answered the bell
This is not a referendum on the future of Daniel Jones. Let’s get that out of the way – again. If you want to criticize the Giants quarterback for something he’s not, go ahead. But for now, as long as the Giants continue to improve — which they do every week — Jones’ job is to play the position as best he can.
It’s unfair to look at Jones and insist that he isn’t. The win against Seattle was by far his best, and he did it without Malik Nabers, who is expected to return this week, and without leader Devin Singletary (groin).
Of course, what comes next is Jones’ biggest adversary — no, not the Bengals, but the prime-time star.
Nothing better than when a plan comes to fruition
Deconstructing the basket blocked by Isaiah Simmons:
Dexter Lawrence was the key – surprise – forcing Seahawks lineman Laken Tomlinson to try to cut him. The Giants knew Tomlinson would block, so Simmons timed his jump counting on that.
Another key aspect: Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Nick McCloud didn’t charge the kicker – that was Simmons’ job. They didn’t bother. Their job: wait for the rebound.
That’s why Ford-Wheaton and McCloud were free and clear to pick up and score on the side where the ball was bouncing, with Ford-Wheaton doing the honors and racing 60 yards to put the game away with his first career touchdown.
THE BAD
An angry Dexter Lawrence is a good thing
Don’t let the smile fool you: Dexter Lawrence is a very bad man on the football field. And make no mistake: this happens under normal circumstances.
Make him angry, like Pro Football Focus did by insinuating that Cowboys rookie center Cooper Beebe dominated Lawrence in their Thursday Night Football game without mentioning that the Giants star was doubled and tripled all night, well, the Seahawks paid for it.
Lawrence had three sacks against Seattle and Giants defensive line coach Andre Patterson did a good job moving the Pro Bowler up and down the line, using him in the 3-technique and nose tackle . That gives him six sacks in five games, and as an interior lineman, one can’t overstate his importance to the Giants’ current success.
THE UGLY
This is Joe Burrow
There’s an intimidation factor that comes with the challenge of having to slow down Joe Burrow. Sure, the Bengals are 1-4, but there’s a reason the Giants are 3.5-point underdogs — and more than anything else, it’s him.
The Bengals lost 41-38 to the Baltimore Ravens in overtime on Sunday, but through no fault of Burrow. He completed 125 of 173 passes (72.3%) for 1,370 yards, 12 touchdowns and two interceptions in five games.
The Giants need to put forth an even better defensive effort to slow down Burrow and his weapons, including Princeton’s Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Andrei Iosivas.
This article was originally published on NorthJersey.com: New York Giants: The good, the bad and the ugly of the Seahawks victory, what will happen
