Eli Manning an Unjust Scapegoat for Giants' Loss to Seahawks

After a stunning loss to Seattle, most fans in New York will blame Eli Manning.

It is easy to see why. Three interceptions is one more than he had all year, but it wasn't all Eli's fault.

Sure, it's easy to see that New York got surprised by a team they were supposed to beat by at least 10 points. Nothing in the way Seattle has played up to this game showed that they were ready for the Giants. That would have been true last year.

A year ago, the Giants came into Seattle and humiliated them to the tune of 41-7. Today's game showed that this is a different Seattle team and a different Giants team.

Injuries can be the difference between winning and losing in the NFL. The parity of the players is so close. The Giants have been one of the most injury effected teams this year.

Tom Coughlin's teams are always competitive, I fully expect them to take the NFC East. Seattle beat a good team on Sunday.

At the end of the first half, the Giants and the Seahawks were tied. Without two fumbles inside the 5-yard line, the score would have been 28-14  or possibly 28-7. Seattle let the Giants hang around in the first half, and many thought it would cost them the game. Then came the second half.

The First Half: Seattle Starts Fast-Giants Sputter

In the first half, Seattle moved the ball, period. Between an efficient no-huddle offense and good play calling, Seattle put New York on their heals early.

For the first time this season Seattle scored on its first possession of the game. Seattle started with a quick out to Obomanu and finished off the drive with a pass to Ben Obomanu again. In both plays, there was a message. Seattle came to play football.

The Giants scored on the ensuing series, and at that time, it looked like this might be an offensive battle, when everyone in the league figured the defense of New York would control this game. Certainly, that would have been the popular thinking around the league.

What Seattle did was turn the Giants on their heads, with a balanced mix between run and pass. Last week, Arizona ran the ball on the Giants for three quarters, so it is not completely surprising that Seattle concentrated on bringing the run. Jackson did a good job of moving the ball around and finding open receivers on third down. With the exception of two fumbles, this was Seattle's best effort on offense, especially in the first half of a game.

Then there's Seattle's defense. After New York's first score on their first possession in the game, the Seahawks shut the offense of the Giants down. With a combination of pressuring Manning and stuffing the run, Seattle kept New York from scoring again until the last minute of the first half. 

Third Quarter: Up and Down, Back and Forth

The third quarter started with New York receiving the kick off.  Three and out. Who could have expected that? The Seahawks did.

According to the postgame interview, Pete Carroll and his coaching staff had one message during halftime: keep doing what you're doing. Sure, the rest of the message was take better care of the ball and keep doing what you have been doing.

For the first time this season, the Seahawks didn't need to make huge adjustments to get back into the game. For a young inexperienced team, the first half was a magic elixir. It's called "confidence."

Everyone on this team knew they needed a little time to start playing together. The question was, how much time? Now we know. Three and a half games. The second half of last week's game appears to be the turning point for this team.

The third quarter showed what this team is made of. The Giants were tied with a team that they were projected to beat by at least 10. Tom Coughlin's message had to be something like "Come on, man! Are you kidding me?" And that is putting it mildly. In response, the defense came out hungry and angry.

The defense of the Seahawks answered with a determination of its own. The only points scored in the third quarter were a safety by defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove. Hargrove almost beat Manning to Ahmad Bradshaw, stuffing him before the ball could leave the end zone.

The third quarter was the defensive battle this game was projected to be. Both sides turned away the other team's offense. They traded turnovers and still didn't allow a score.

One discouraging note in the third quarter was the number of penalties called on the Seahawks, especially during special teams play. At least twice, Seattle's field position was hampered by holding or other penalties. This is something Seattle will work to clean up during the bye week break.

The Fourth Quarter: Seattle Steps Up; New York Comes Close

With 12:50 left to go in the game, it looked like New York had momentum on their side. Victor Cruz pulled off one of the most amazing catches of this short season. After Richard Sherman got his hands on the ball and tipped it into the air, Cruz somehow found it in mid air and tipped it again, this time into his own hands as he headed for the goal line. The crowd was on their feet, and after a two-point conversion, the Giants were ahead by three.

This was the first lead New York held all day. After a disappointing three quarters, it looked like the Giants had finally figured out they wanted to win. The next offensive series for Seattle ends in a punt, and it looked like the Giants were going to control the game, until a fumble returned the ball to Seattle on the 25. After a short field goal, the game was tied.

Back to Eli Manning and Victor Cruz. Another incredible catch brought the New York offense close enough to kick the go ahead field goal. Seattle finds a way to stop the Giants inside the 20.

The Seahawks, Charlie Whitehurst and Doug Baldwin answered back with a touchdown during a "free" play, with a New York player jumping off sides before the snap. Whitehurst hits an all alone Baldwin in the end zone to put Seattle in the lead again.

Eli Manning wasn't done. Again, he finds Cruz on a slant down the middle. Another run by Bradshaw, and the Giants are threatening again. That's when the Seahawks defense dialed up two rushes on Eli Manning, sandwiched around a false start caused by New York having to use a less experienced center. The line jumped when the center failed to hike the ball on the count.

The next play was almost Victor Cruz's third amazing catch of the game. Instead, it bounced off Victor's hand and eventually was picked of by Seattle cornerback Brandon Browner. Browner took off down the side line to score unchallenged 95 yards later, clinching a win for the underdog Seahawks.

Summary: The Giants Were No Match for the Seahawks

More than anything this game, proved that the Seattle Seahawks are an enigma. Not many expected Seattle to win in New York; even their overly optimistic coach didn't say anything about expecting to win this week during his press conferences leading up to the game.

What he said was, this was an excellent chance to show who the Seattle Seahawks are. The offense outshined the defense for an entire game. In the two games leading up to this game, Seattle's defense kept them in the game. This was the first game the offense kept pace with their defense. They stung out offensive series, keeping the defense on the bench and rested up for the second half. That was huge against a big, physical team like New York.

Charlie Whitehurst came in and did what most of his supporters said he would. Without much prep for this game or game plan, Whitehurst took only two series to get in the groove of hitting his receivers. He showed his ability to throw a variety of passes spreading the ball around nicely. Once he settled in, there was little difference in offensive production as Whitehurst and Seattle moved the ball. Admittedly, it wasn't quite as efficient as with Jackson, but it wasn't much of a drop off.

The enigma that is the Seattle Seahawks is coming into focus as a team to be counted in the race for the NFC West.