Giants' offense takes a step back in Seattle
Giants running back Saquon Barkley leaves the field after an NFL game against the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday. Credit: AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
SEATTLE — Things can change a lot in the span of one week.
Last week against Jacksonville, the Giants’ potent running game looked to be in good shape as Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley rushed for a combined 217 yards in a 23-17 win. Jones passed for 202 yards and a touchdown on his way to being named the NFC offensive player of the week.
But on Sunday, the Giants’ offense took a big step back in a 27-13 loss to the Seahawks.
They struggled to get anything going against a rapidly improving Seahawks defense, recording only three first downs in the first half and 78 rushing yards.
Barkley came into the game averaging 5.1 yards per carry and ranked second in the NFL with 726 total ground yards, but he gained only 53 yards on 20 carries against Seattle. He did have a 1-yard TD run.
Jones was under pressure for much of the game and struggled to find his rhythm. He completed only 54.8% of his passes (17-for-31), didn’t throw a touchdown pass, took eight hits and was sacked five times for a loss of 29 yards.
One week after rushing for 100 yards for the first time in his career, Jones gained only 20 yards on six carries against the Seahawks.
As a team, the Giants averaged 2.8 yards per carry.
Suffice to say, it was not the performance coach Brian Daboll was hoping for.
“I thought [Seattle] did a great job of stopping the run,” Daboll said. “I think we averaged less than three yards, and I thought they did a good job on the perimeter on some of the nakeds and the keeps. We didn’t hit any big plays off of them. They just did a better job than we did.”
The Seahawks’ focus on stuffing the running game was not surprising to Barkley. With the Giants entering Sunday ranked second in the NFL with 173.4 ground yards per game, Barkley foresees future opponents keying in on him and Jones when the Giants resume play in two weeks against the Houston Texans.
“That’s everybody,” Barkley said. “That’s going to be everybody. It is what it is. I look forward to it the rest of the second half of the season. I look forward to that challenge. And I know we have the coaches who are going to craft something up during this bye week and put us in great positions. When the plays are called, we have to be able to execute.”
One week, an inspiring win. The next, a frustrating loss that creates plenty of questions heading into the bye. To Jones, that is just how things go in the NFL.
“Defenses are good, teams are good, and Seattle deserves a lot of credit,” he said. “They’re a good defense and a good team, and they played better than us today. We’ll look to see how we can clean up some things and improve, but that’s the way it works in this league. Everyone’s good.”
