Seahawks vs. Giants score, takeaways: Geno Smith, Seattle defense outlast New York for third straight win

Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, meanwhile, are held under wraps

Everyone in the NFC East extended their win streak on Sunday -- except for Brian Daboll's red-hot Giants. Looking for their fifth straight victory in a road matchup with the Seahawks, the G-Men repeatedly hurt themselves in a messy back-and-forth. Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, Daboll's highest-profile reclamation stories, both struggled to break loose in a game that remained low-scoring until the closing stretch. Pete Carroll, meanwhile, got another poised showing from Geno Smith, as well as timely plays from Tyler Lockett, the defensive front and the special teams unit, to secure a 27-13 win, the team's third straight "W."

The Giants were hindered primarily by a pair of punt-return blunders, with wide receiver Richie James fumbling on two different returns that helped give Seattle prime field position. But Smith was once again, surprisingly or not, the best QB on the field, dishing to both Lockett and DK Metcalf with the game on the line. Seattle's victory moves the Seahawks to 5-3 atop the NFC West, and drops the Giants to 6-2 in the NFC East, where the Eagles (7-0) and Cowboys (6-2) both logged blowout wins on Sunday.

Here are some additional takeaways from the Seahawks' big NFC victory:

Why the Seahawks won

They employ the better quarterback. Or at least they did on Sunday. OK, so this wasn't really all about the signal-callers, but honestly, on a day where both sides struggled to find much rhythm offensively, only one got killer crunch-time throws, and that was Seattle. Smith may have had three TDs if it weren't for Lockett's wide-open drop, and once again he protected the ball despite airing it out often in a first half where Carroll's squad failed to establish the run. Speaking of Lockett, his resilience out wide helped propel the "W," as did Metcalf's late emergence for their go-ahead scoring drive. The star wideouts were quiet overall, but still combined for 11 catches, 118 yards and two scores when it counted.

More importantly, the Seahawks' once-porous defense remained stingy. Limiting the Giants to a pair of first downs through the first quarter and a half of action, Seattle also stuffed Barkley for most of the night, only allowing him in the end zone after Lockett's uncharacteristic fumble gave New York the ball already in the red zone. Uchenna Nwosu headlined a pass rush that downed Jones five times, and the defensive success indirectly helped Seattle win on special teams, too, where Will Dissly got in on a pair of forced fumbles to win the turnover battle for the home squad.

Why the Giants lost

Return specialist Richie James is the easy culprit, fumbling a pair of punts to give Seattle great field position on two scoring drives, and his gaffes certainly lead the list of reasons New York failed to advance to 7-1. But the offensive strategy from Daboll and/or coordinator Mike Kafka left a lot to be desired out of the gate, with Barkley all but absent on back-to-back three-and-outs. Later on, as Barkley failed to break free, Jones simply could not develop steady chemistry with any receiver except for Darius Slayton, consistently throwing short of the sticks on third downs and stalling in Seattle territory.

New York's defense did its best to make it a game, with Xavier McKinney, Micah McFadden and Leonard Williams all delivering hard hits on Smith, and Adoree Jackson forcing the early Lockett fumble to give the G-Men momentum. But when you can't score points, you can't win games, and for all the work Daboll has done on Jones and Barkley this year, their headlining stars were unable to make plays before the game got out of hand. Despite easily winning the time-of-possession battle, the Giants averaged a measly 3.5 yards per play.

Turning point

Knotted up at 13-13 in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks went heavy on the aerial attack, spreading the Giants out with five straight passes to Metcalf, Lockett and Marquise Goodwin. Smith hit all five throws, with the last one going down the sideline on a perfect deep floater to Lockett -- a 33-yard score that helped the latter redeem himself from his earlier miscues. That drive didn't just swing momentum back in Seattle's favor and confirm Smith as the day's best QB, but sealed the Seahawks' lead.

Play of the game

It's gotta be that 33-yard strike from Geno to Lockett, which essentially put the Giants to rest midway through the fourth:

What's next

The Seahawks (5-3) will hit the road for a Week 8 showdown with the rival Cardinals (3-5), who barely lost to the Vikings on Sunday. The Giants (6-2), meanwhile, will rest up on their bye before hosting the Texans (1-5-1), who fell to the Titans.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 7:04 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Ballgame. Kenneth Walker III, quiet all day, breaks loose and through tackles for the 16-yard TD run on the first play of Seattle's drive after the Richie James fumble. It's 26-13 Seahawks. The crowd is loving it. Seattle poised to move to 5-3.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 7:01 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

No way. Richie James fields the punt after the Seahawks' three-and-out, and then coughs up the ball for the second time today, this time courtesy of Travis Homer. Seattle's Will Dissly gets on the ball, and that might do it. New York had a chance to even up the score after its quick defensive stop, but its second special-teams giveaway of the day ensures the Seahawks will control the clock again.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 6:56 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Shelby Harris with one of the plays of the day running down Daniel Jones to force a three-and-out and keep the game in Seattle's hands: 

[Oct 30, 2022 at 6:48 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

The DK-Lockett duo comes up big in crunch time. Clock ticking under 10 minutes in the game, and Geno Smith finds both his top two receivers -- a combined four times in five plays -- to get into the end zone. The TD drive is capped on a beauty of a deep floater to Lockett, who makes up for his earlier wide-open drop to put Seattle ahead 20-13. That feels like a real game-changer.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 6:43 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Another drive, another field goal. Giants keep pushing the ball into Seahawks territory, but they've yet to really seal the deal on their own. Saquon Barkley is up to 19 carries, but has gained just 52 yards. Darius Slayton is doing his best to open up New York's passing game single-handedly, but each defense is performing well situationally. Giants and Seahawks both averaging under four yards per play.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 6:31 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Pete Carroll and Geno Smith go over to encourage Tyler Lockett after the Seahawks star literally drops a chance for Seattle to go up a touchdown late in the third. Lockett had his man beat deep, prompting a perfect downfield shot from Smith, but let the ball bounce through his hands, forcing the Seahawks to settle for three and go up 13-10. An unfortunate end to a promising series from Seattle's QB, who also showed nice awareness dumping one off to Travis Homer for a 21-yard gain.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 6:21 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Something to monitor: Daniel Jones' throwing hand was bloodied on the Giants' last drive and is now getting attention from trainers on the sideline. He doesn't appear overly concerned, but it's possible they'll put some kind of bandaging on there.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 6:19 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Saquon Barkley shows signature burst on a handful of carries to open the Giants' first second-half drive. Seahawks then have a Bruce Irvin sack erased because the pass rusher was offsides, and Darius Slayton eventually comes up big on a couple shots past the sticks. But once again, New York stalls on a key third-and-long, with Daniel Jones throwing short of the sticks and failing to connect with Wan'Dale Robinson. The follow-up 31-yard field goal try from Graham Gano is good, however, and it's a 10-10 game.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 5:56 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Halftime in Seattle, where it's been a mostly sloppy affair for both sides. Seahawks lead it 10-7 on the back of a single impressive scoring drive that saw Pete Carroll dial up two successful fourth-down attempts and Geno Smith deliver a dart to DK Metcalf. Only a combined 13 first downs between the teams through two quarters, and 10 of those belong to the home team. Nothing's been doing for Brian Daboll's Giants, whose only score came after an uncharacteristic Tyler Lockett fumble deep in Seattle territory. Five sacks and two turnovers really tell the tale here. Let's see which club can figure out how to move the ball on the ground later.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 5:48 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

The Seahawks just barely miss out on a highlight-reel TD catch from Tyler Lockett, who corrals a floater but can't quite get both feet in bounds while tiptoeing the end zone sideline. Instead, Seattle settles for three and leads 10-7 with halftime fast approaching. Geno Smith has already thrown it 24 times today, with New York stepping up to limit Kenneth Walker III (2.2 yards per carry).

[Oct 30, 2022 at 5:39 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Major hit from Xavier McKinney on Geno Smith, flying in untouched for a wallop of a sack. That's the second sack of the drive for the Giants, forcing a Seattle punt. But then Richie James coughs up the ball on the ensuing return thanks to a timely hit from Will Dissly, and the Seahawks are right back on the field. Big turnover that costs New York a shot to take a first-half lead.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 5:30 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

That's a game-changer. Geno Smith hits Tyler Lockett on a short throw, and as Lockett is spinning around to break a tackle, Adoree Jackson manages to strip the ball just before the receiver's bottom hits the ground. So Giants get a first-and-goal gifted to them, giving them their first possession in Seattle territory, and Saquon Barkley takes it in on his second try for the score. Even ballgame.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 5:27 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Giants offense is stuck in neutral, if that. Saquon Barkley is getting his touches now, including several from the Shotgun on direct snaps, but New York has yet to stretch the field in any way. Daniel Jones is barely throwing near the chains on third downs, perhaps because there's no separation downfield, but no matter who's to blame, it won't be pretty if Seattle is able to string together another long scoring drive. Giants have just two first downs in over a quarter and a half of action.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 5:19 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Geno Smith to DK Metcalf for the first points of the day. Bullet over the middle, and no one was close to Metcalf, who came into the game fresh off the knee injury that required him to exit last week's game early. Brilliant show of aggression from Pete Carroll's squad there, playing short-area ball to control the clock on a 15-play, 69-yard TD series.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 5:14 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Gutsy -- and correct -- call from Pete Carroll on fourth-and-1 to go for it in a no-score game, and Geno Smith floats it perfectly on the dump-off for Tyler Lockett, the safest bet on such a down. Geno shows off his mobility a couple plays later, shaking loose a pass rusher to set up another fourth-and-short in the red zone, then hits Will Dissly on the shovel pass to move the chains. Seahawks are threatening to put the first points on the board.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 5:03 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Daniel Jones had a wide-open Lawrence Cager down the right sideline but overthrew his target. Doesn't help that the Giants QB is just now adjusting to not having Daniel Bellinger at tight end. Not a whole lot of anything from either offense so far. Rookie linebacker Micah McFadden gets to Geno Smith on Seattle's ensuing drive for a big sack, and we're now deep into our seventh total series of the day without anything close to a red-zone push. DK Metcalf at least breaks free for 15 to move the chains.

[Oct 30, 2022 at 4:50 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Curious start for the Giants from a strategic standpoint. Despite Saquon Barkley's dominance on the ground, the G-Men open with six straight pass plays, going three-and-out on back-to-back drives. Cody Barton's sack helps end one of the series for Seattle.