The weather improved, then Eli Manning went from inconsistent to embarrassing.
In a 23-0 Seahawks smack-down at MetLife Stadium, the NFL’s most-intercepted quarterback was picked a career-high five times, raising his season total to 25. Seattle entered Sunday leading the league in pass defense (175.6 yards per game), then kept Manning to 156 passing yards (18 completions on 31 attempts) and sacked him three times.
Manning stunk like Limburger cheese. He played worse than he performed his rap song, somehow. He under-threw passes and tested double coverage, “helping” the Giants sputter to 181 yards of offense. Afterward, Coughlin was in no mood to hold back, saying, “There’s no way to sugar-coat it, it was a pathetic offensive performance.”
Coughlin benched Manning for Curtis Painter in the fourth quarter.
Yes, Curtis Painter.
Remember the freezing rain and four-to-eight inches of snow expected to pound the Northeast during the weekend?
It came Saturday night, and didn’t have much effect on fans or players. By the 1 p.m. ET kick-off, the temperature was 43 degrees, the precipitation non-existent. Stadium crews cleared the field and the sky was overcast.
QB Russell Wilson didn’t get to fulfill his dream of playing for the first time in the snow, but maybe he found solace in out-playing Manning, a downtrodden two-time Super Bowl winner. Wilson joined Dan Marino (68) and Peyton Manning (52) as the only quarterbacks to throw for at least 50 touchdowns in their first two seasons.
Meanwhile, Marshawn Lynch is evolving. Sunday he tied WR Doug Baldwin for a team-high six receptions and hauled in a team-best 73 receiving yards. Lynch carried 16 times for 47 yards and a second quarter touchdown where he took on three defenders, planted his feet, contorted and dove backward across the goal line.
Seahawks WR Golden Tate had two catches for 25 yards despite six targets. If there is a weakness for the 12-2 Seahawks, it is the lack of a true deep receiving threat until Percy Harvin returns from August hip surgery.
