For One Game The Real McCoy
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario
The New York Football Giants traveled cross country to face a team in the Seattle Seahawks that many picked to represent the National Football Conference in the Super Bowl. Seattle, led by quarterback Russell Wilson, is on an MVP pace. The only folks who thought Big Blue could come out with a victory, was well, Big Blue. Their journey was made even more complicated because starting quarterback Daniel Jones was relegated to the sideline as a result of a pulled/strained hamstring the week before against the Cincinnati Bengals. That left first year head coach Joe Judge to start veteran and journeyman Colt McCoy. Prior to signing with the Giants this year, McCoy spent the last 10 years with 3 different teams (Cleveland, San Francisco and Washington) making 28 starts. McCoy did manage to get the Giants to the finish line after Jones went down. Judge was hoping after a week of practice with the first team, McCoy would give the Giants a punchers chance. Thanks to a stingy defense and a solid running game, the Giants came away with perhaps the biggest upset of this crazy Coronavirus/Covid19 2020 season.
The first half score resembled a baseball game as Seattle would put 5 points on the board via a Jeff Myers 31-yard field goal and a Seattle safety. Meanwhile, McCoy and the offense stumbled out the block. They went 3 and out the first time they had the ball. Seattle followed suit and after McCoy gets the Giants down to the Hawks 16-yard line, his pass goes through the hands of tight end Evan Engram and is intercepted by safety Quandre Diggs. Said McCoy of the first half struggles, “You don’t win a lot of games when you have zero points at halftime.’’
The defense gave Wilson all he could handle. The Giants made Seattle punt twice and forced a turnover before getting on the board in the third quarter. After both teams punted, the running back tandem of Wayne Gallman and Alfred Morris bolstered the offense. Gallman erupts for a 60-yard gain, getting down to the Seattle 23. Morris picks up where Gallman left off taking his next two carries for 13 and 4 yards. The last resulting in a touchdown. New York converts the 2-point conversion giving them an 8-5 lead. Gallman finished his day gaining 135 yards on 16 carries. He praised his offensive line and coaches afterward. “The [offensive] line did their job. Everybody sealed, I pulled the linebackers in as much as I could and I just hit it. The [offensive] line has been doing a great job. I credit the coaches. During the week, every week I say we try to get 1% better and we’ve really done that. Big credit to the offensive line today.”
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
Still, the defense knew they had plenty of work to do. First, with 4th and 1 on their own 48, the Giants forced Wilson to throw an incomplete pass to running back Chris Carson taking over on downs. 5 plays later, McCoy finds running back Alfred Morris for the 6-yard touchdown pass. Gallman shredding the Seattle defense for 39 more yards on the drive. With the lead now 14-5, Seattle was still in striking distance. Wilson attempts a short pass to Carson but cornerback Darnay Holmes comes up with the interception. Graham Gano atoned for his missed extra point, nailing a 48-yard field goal extending the lead to 17-5.
With 9:45 left, Wilson marches down the field. 11 plays and 77 yards later, he finds Carson for the 28-yard touchdown pass cutting the lead to 17-12. The last couple of years, New York has blown their fair share of games when in this situation. Not this time.
The Giants used 8 plays before giving Wilson and Seattle one more chance with 1:48 left needing a touchdown to complete the comeback. Starting from their own 20, following the New York punt, Wilson gets down to the Giants 46-yard line and then gets sacked for an 8-yard loss by defensive end Leonard Williams. Wilson’s 4th down attempt is incomplete sealing the win. Giants Safety Jabril Peppers on Wilson’s last pass, “we know Russ (Wilson) is a hell of a deep-ball thrower, one of the best in the business. We just wanted to surround the ball with as many defenders and we can and make sure either we catch it, or nobody catches it.”
The defense had a simple plan coming into the game. Executing it was something else. Said Williams, “We knew Russ (Wilson) likes to make plays with his legs, getting outside the pocket so he can see the whole field. We just wanted to make things difficult on him. Make him throw into tight windows, make those guys make contested catches, and keep everything in front of us.”
The deck was stacked when the New York Giants got on the plane to travel cross country to play the high-powered Seattle Seahawks and MVP candidate in Russell Wilson. Said Judge, “I’m happy the way the team played today. I’m proud of the way they worked. They had a good week of preparation and the way we prepare always carries into how we play and how we perform. I’ve seen this group make consistent improvement day in and day out which carries over week by week.”
For one more week at least, they can be referred to as the first place New York Giants. But it doesn’t get any easier. They host the Arizona Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray who are coming off a loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams 38-28. Murray is a carbon copy of Wilson. After the Seahawks game, the Giants defense just may have a blueprint for success.
