Takeaways: Seahawks Dominate the Giants

By Jackson Safon

Yesterday the Seahawks went on the road to play a team that has nothing to lose at a 10:00 AM start time. Generally that is a recipe for disaster, but the Giants simply aren’t that good and the ‘Hawks were too much for them. The Seahawks won 23-0 and it should’ve been a lot closer to 40-0, but a win is a win and a shutout is nothing to cry about. This win moves the Seahawks to 12-2, which includes 6-2 on the road and a fantastic 4-1 in 10:00 AM starts. Those are two categories that many ‘Hawks fans were worried about going into this season but Russell Wilson and the Seahawks have silenced all of the doubters.

1. Defense was dominant

There will be people out there who say the Seahawks defense was only dominant because the Giants offense is terrible. Part of that is true, but it is very difficult to shut out an NFL football team for a number of reasons. The Seahawks went into New York and held the Giants offense to 25 yards rushing and only 156 yards passing. Not to mention the five interceptions, yes five, and the four sacks. The Giants only had 12 first downs in this game and a few of them came when the game was already in hand. Absolute domination by the defense as a whole, but a special shout out to Byron Maxwell who has played lights out since taking over for the injured Brandon Browner.

2. Offense was…good enough

The Seahawks put up 23 points and scored on five different drives, but this was not nearly the offense we as fans are accustomed to seeing. Russell Wilson only averaged 7.6 yards per attempt and Marshawn Lynch averaged under three yards per carry. The Giants defense is no joke but the offensive performance was still not where it has to be going forward.  Doug Baldwin and Marshawn Lynch had good receiving days, but Golden Tate uncharacteristically missed on three potential deep balls. Obviously the offense played good enough to win this game but the unit needs to perform better as a whole going forward.

3. Special Teams is consistently the best

Reuben Randle had the first punt return against the Seahawks in months, and his return of four yards bumped the total allowed by the ‘Hawks to 19. In other words, the Seahawks punt unit is having one of the best seasons in the history of the NFL. Furthermore, Steven Hauschka continues his fantastic season, knocking in all three of his field goals. Hauschka has been so good that the only field goal he has missed was the one the ‘Hawks had blocked in the Colts game. Just an unbelievable year.

Steven Hauschka is a Pro-Bowl caliber kicker.

Seahawks.com

4. Penalties

The Seahawks had 8 penalties for 50 yards. The yardage total isn’t terrible, but the penalties show a lack of discipline that is almost never present in Super Bowl champions. I have no doubt the Seahawks have the potential to make it to the Super Bowl, but lack of discipline is one of the things that could possibly derail them.

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