Seahawks vs. Giants: 5 Things We Learned from New York's Loss to Seattle

When I wrote an article this past week cautioning the New York Giants not take this game lightly, I still believed the Giants would come away victorious over the Seattle Seahawks. 

I actually figured it would be a close victory given all the new injuries the Giants dealt with (B. Jacobs, D. Baas). 

With the game on the line, down by four and just over a minute to play from the 10 yard line, Eli Manning tried to hit Victor Cruz on a fake corner-slant route. 

Cruz slipped, caught the ball with his left hand, had it knocked out and intercepted; Brandon Browner took it 94 yards for a touchdown and the game was over. 

In a complete turn around from last weekend, the Giants snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. 

Here are five things we learned from this embarrassing home loss. 

The Defense Is Lost Without Justin Tuck

It's amazing how much different the Giants defense has played when Justin Tuck is actually on the field. It is a night and day difference. 

Yes, Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora did a good job getting pressure, but they didn't bring it consistently and couldn't stop the run. 

Justin Tuck is great against the run, but not only that he's the defense's leader and they desperately need him to get healthy. 

The Offensive Line Is Terrible

The Giants offensive line was awful in today's game. There is not a single player along the line that I would say had a good game. 

They have not opened up holes for the Giants running backs the entire season. Oh wait, they did in one game—against the Eagles who have a terrible run defense. 

In every other game they've been able to do a decent job keeping Eli upright, but have not displayed any blocking skills whatsoever. 

Even running to the right has been a huge problem, which has been a strong suit for many years. It has a lot to do with the tight ends as well, they haven't been able to seal off guys and create alleys. 

This unit has a ton of work to do. 

Victor Cruz Has Officially Supplanted Mario Manningham as No. 2 Receiver

Even though Kevin Gilbride says Mario Manningham is their starter opposite Hakeem Nicks, the past three weeks have proven otherwise. 

In Manningham's absence, Victor Cruz went off for three catches, 110 yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles. 

In the Cardinals game, Manningham was benched in favor of Cruz, who responded with six catches and 98 yards. 

This week, despite having a terrible fumble and dropping a pass that led to the game sealing turnover, Cruz exploded for eight catches, 161 yards and a touchdown. 

Clearly he's the second best option on this team right now, even if Manningham is the so-called "starter." 

Right Now, Giants Do Not Look Like Playoff Contenders

So far the Giants have beaten three teams with a combined 2-12 record. Now they lost to another team who is 2-3 and whose only win came against the 1-4 Cardinals. 

I know the Eagles and Cowboys have had their struggles, but the Giants don't look like they can hold either of them off. 

I firmly believe the wild card is not coming out of this division, so the Giants needed this to get a bigger lead for the NFC East crown. 

Obviously they did not do that, and Tom Coughlin said they "fully expected to win the game...about as miserable a feeling as we've had around here in a long time."

With all of the injuries they've sustained, the defense playing up and down and not being able to run the ball which was a perceived strength, the Giants just don't look like playoff contenders right now. 

Giants Problems Can Still Be Fixed

With all of the problems the Giants have had the past couple of weeks, they still can get better and fix a lot of the problems just by getting healthy. 

The addition of Prince Amukamara will drastically help a thin corps of defensive backs, Justin Tuck coming back will make the Giants the most fearsome pass rushing team in the league, and David Baas is clearly missed along the offensive line. 

The Giants really needed this one, and it's incredibly disappointing the way they let the game slip away with a chance to win it. 

They'd better bounce back against a very good Buffalo Bills team next week.