Ingredients:

• 1 foul that cannot get into the end zone
• 1-star rookie wide receiver out with a concussion
• 1 starting running back with a groin injury
• 1 starting quarterback who throws deep and too long or deep and too short
• 1 defensive line that doesn’t get to the quarterback enough
• 1 CB1 not contesting the catches of opposing WR1s

Instructions:

• Lean on second and third string RBs, WR2 and so far unproductive TE1
• Mix all ingredients well
• Add the mixture to the Lumen field
• Bake at 68 degrees for 60 minutes of playing time. F

It didn’t sound like a recipe for success for the 1-3 New York Giants, as they faced the 3-1 Seattle Seahawks with some urgency to be on the brink of relevance in a surprisingly attractive NFC East. Would the soufflée rise, or would it fall flat like the last two Giants games against the Seahawks have done? What did we learn from the Giants’ thrilling 29-20 win over Seattle?

The soufflée rose!

There is hope for the Giants defense

We’ve all been low-key worried about the state of the Giants’ defense, but with all the hand-wringing over the offense, it’s flown a bit under the radar. The defense showed itself on Sunday, both up front and in the secondary. Especially in the first three quarters, Seattle, a team that had a 29-point lead over Detroit’s defense a week earlier, looked uneasy.

The Giants sacked Seattle quarterback Geno Smith seven times and hit him 10 more times. They made Smith feel uncomfortable all day. The best part is that they spread the wealth. Dexter Lawrence had his usual dominant day with three sacks, including the game-clinching sack at the end. Brian Burns was the most visible we’ve ever seen him in a Giants uniform, with a sack and two passes defensed. Kayvon Thibdoeaux had half a sack and was active in the fourth quarter. The nicest development, however, was the rest of the inner defense line. Rakeem Nunez-Roches shared a sack and blocked a pass. DJ Davidson had two sacks. Elijah Chatman got to Smith just a half-second too late to prevent his late TD pass, but at least got that one QB hit. The Giants blew quite a bit, more than I expected, but the line clearly bothered Smith and looked more like what we had hoped for when the season started.

The other pleasant surprise was the secondary. We saw Deonte Banks contest and deny a potential DK Metcalf catch, one of three passes defensed he was credited with on the day, and force a fumble. Cor’Dale Flott also defended a pass and Tyler Nubin had seven tackles and two assists. They didn’t stop the Seahawks’ passing game – Smith finished with 284 passing yards. However, much of that was while Seattle was playing catch-up in the fourth quarter, and few teams have as much quality three-deep at wide receiver as Seattle. Overall, this was a very good performance from the secondary.

Who is the Giants’ RB1?

I’m not serious about that. Assuming Devin Singletary is healthy next week, he will get the majority of the carries for the Giants. Eric Gray also showed some today, with 50 receiving yards, but had that excruciating fumble at the goal line that made a game crazy, the Giants dominated a nail-biter, it’s hard to imagine him buried on the depth chart. (For the record, I’m not at all convinced the ball was out before it broke the plane.)

But today was Tyrone Tracy’s coming out party. The fifth-round draft pick intrigued me because his Purdue tape showed a player who could make defenses miss and rack up a lot of yards after first contact. I didn’t see much of that through the first four games, and I had to remind myself that Day 3 players don’t get called up until Day 3 for a reason, and as a fan I tend to exaggerate their chances of success. In Seattle, however, Tracy ran 18 times for 129 yards, including one for 27 yards. More importantly, he showed the contact balance so evident on his Purdue tape. Unlike the first few games, the Giants’ offensive line today gave their RBs some room to run, and Tracy in particular took advantage. I have to imagine he sees the field progressing more, and I’m all for it.

Daniel Jones completed the job today

Unlike last week, when Daniel Jones moved the ball up and down the field but lost because he couldn’t get his team into the end zone, today Jones was in complete control of the offense. Jones finished 23 of 34 for 257 yards, two TDs, no INTs and a passer rating of 109.6. It should have been even more, but his receivers had at least three drops by my count, a pair from Wan’Dale Robinson and one from Darius Slayton. If you take away Gray’s drops and fumbles at the goal line, Jones should have been ahead by four touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Jones kept the offense moving by successfully scrambling despite pressure and had 38 yards on the ground, some of which were zone reads or keepers in the middle.

No Malik Nabers? No problem. Let’s be honest, we were concerned that the Giants would see some offense with Nabers out, given how much Nabers has dominated Jones’ attention in the first four games. Without him, Jones was forced to look elsewhere, and he delivered. The Giants turned to backup Seattle cornerback Tre Brown after starter Tariq Woolen went down with an injury. Slayton had eight receptions on 11 targets for 122 yards and a TD, including two explosive plays (!), one of a 41-yarder. On that play, Jones rolled to his right and hit Slayton deep in the left corner.

The other TD was for Robinson, with a similar concept. Jones faked a handoff, rolled to his right and as the defense turned to that side, he hit Robinson going left with a shallow cross that he caught, turned the corner and got into the end zone. Still no contribution from Jalin Hyatt, but you can’t have everything.

Even rookie Theo Johnson contributed, with five catches for 48 yards. For the first time, we can say the Giants will get contributions from all of their 2024 draft picks.

Jones is not Joe Burrow (who is 1-4, by the way), or Justin Herbert, or, unfortunately, Jayden Daniels. However, take away the opening week fiasco of 28-6 against the now 5-0 Vikings, and he has played some pretty good ball. After five weeks, he has the Giants in the same spot as Aaron Rodgers with the Jets. He should be 4-1 now, and some of that is his fault for what he didn’t do last week. However, he is back to his 2022 form.

Bonus: Isaiah Simmons and Bryce Ford-Wheaton

It’s not really something we learned, so I kept the article title at four, but Isaiah Simmons has been relegated to something of an afterthought in Shane Bowen’s defense, so I had to mention him for his hustle in blocking of the potential field goal. . Also, props to Bryce Ford-Wheaton, a player who has only worked on special teams so far, for scoring his first NFL touchdown to seal the game. As the announcers noted, it would have been better for him to slide before reaching the end zone like Singletary did in Cleveland, but how can you blame him?