EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — With all the points the Seattle Seahawks were scoring this season, it was easy to overlook their defense. They were excellent against the run but the pass defense was horrible.
A new Legion of Boom appeared on Monday night and wreaked havoc on Daniel Jones and the New York Giants.
Rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon scored on a 97-yard interception return late in the third quarter and the Seahawks tied a team record with 11 sacks in a 24-3 victory over the struggling and offensively inept Giants.
“We’re just getting going,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “We’re just putting it together. A night like this for our defense to play that explosively. I can’t remember seeking double digit sacks.”
Geno Smith threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf late in the first quarter after a strip-sack by defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. set up a short drive and Kenneth Walker III scored on a 1-yard run just before halftime as the Seahawks (3-1) won their third straight.
A fourth-quarter interception by Quandre Diggs set up a field goal by Jason Myers as the Seattle improve to 6-0 at MetLife Stadium, including the franchise’s only Super Bowl win, a 43-8 decision over Denver in 2014.
Besides the sacks, Seattle held New York, which played without star running back Saquon Barkley (ankle) for the second straight game, to 248 yards in total offense, 6 of 16 on third down and forced two turnovers.
Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Witherspoon and Uchenna Nwosu each had two sacks.
“I think we needed it. Easy game defensively,” said Wagner, who also had 17 tackles. “We’ve been getting better. We’ve done a good job stopping the run but the thing was applying pressure. The last game we had a lot of pressures but not as many sacks. I think this game we turned those pressures into sacks.”
Graham Gano kicked a 55-yard field goal for the Giants (1-3), who have played one good half in four games this season and have looked nothing like the team that made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2016.
Seattle was clinging to a 14-3 lead late in third quarter when the Giants moved from their 43 to the Seahawks 5. On second and goal, Daniel Jones tried to hit Parris Campbell and the receiver seemed to stumble. Jones’ pass went to Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick in the draft, and he scored almost untouched crossing from the right side of the field to the left to make it 21-3.
“It was a play that we had seen on film formation,” Witherspoon said of his first NFL interception.
“He ran basically a return route. I jumped it. He threw the ball and just tried to get to the box. That was my whole mindset.”
The Giants’ offense has really struggled the past two games without Saquon Barkley and left tackle Andrew Thomas missing his third straight game with hamstring injury.
“No excuses, we didn’t get the job done,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said.
The Seahawks didn’t do a lot against the Giants’ defense. The only real drive they had was seven plays, 75 yards just before halftime that was engineered by backup Drew Lock, who replaced Smith after he tweaked a knee and needed X-Rays. The drive included a 51-yard pass to Noah Fant.