The Giants rediscover their resilient magic from 2022 and shock the Seahawks with a decisive win

SEATTLE- The Giants desperately needed some of Brian Daboll's old magic on Sunday. And yes, at this point the Magic felt old – almost from a long time ago – even though it had been just two years since Daboll and his resilient Giants shocked the NFL in his first season as an NFL head coach.

On Sunday in Seattle, no one expected much from them. Not against this Seahawks defense. And certainly not without wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Devin Singletary – two extremely important but injured players – bolstering a still disappointing offense.

So could the Giants deliver some of that old, resilient magic? Could they avoid a disastrous 1-4 start to Daboll's coveted third season?

They certainly could – and did. And in keeping with their drama in 2022, they held on for a 29-20 victory and sealed it with theatrics.

With 55 seconds left, the Seahawks were on the verge of making it 23-0, but Isaiah Simmons jumped forward and blocked Jason Myers' 47-yard field goal attempt. Bryce Ford-Wheaton scored a 60-yard touchdown. So the rocking Lumen Field fell silent.

This was a huge win for Daboll – a stunning result after a terrible 1-3 start to this season and last season's 6-11 fiasco. At 2-3, despite low expectations, the Giants still have a long way to go if they want to shock the NFL again this season and be a contender.

But the bigger picture can wait for another day. Because they'll be smiling the whole way on Sunday night on the long flight back to New Jersey, having just beaten a legitimate team 3-1 in one of the NFL's toughest road environments.

Without Nabers, the Giants managed 122 yards and a touchdown from Darius Slayton. Without Singletary, they totaled 129 yards to fifth-round rookie Tyrone Tracy. Daboll's offense gained 420 yards on a day in which he largely had an outstanding game – and his team survived.

The Seahawks cut the Giants' lead to 23-20 with 2:09 to play thanks to a 5-yard touchdown catch by Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Giants needed just one more productive offensive attack – to loud cheers from the Seattle crowd – to prevent them from blowing a 10-point lead in the final six minutes.

They didn't understand it. They went out of bounds three times and needed just 18 seconds to give Seattle the ball back on its own 34-yard line with 1:40 left. Less than a minute of game time later, the game-winning field goal seemed inevitable – until it wasn't.

The Giants had a chance to take a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter after Brian Burns' fourth-down sack gave their offense the ball at Seattle's 27-point line. However, they settled for a field goal when Eric Gray dropped a third-and-down sack. 3 passes near the goal line. That meant the Giants were 1 of 4 in the red zone. Would this come back to haunt her?

They took a 20-13 lead in the fourth quarter behind a season-high 377 yards. But their field goal, which made it 20-13 at the end of the third quarter, came after Jones overthrew an open Slayton in the end zone – a missed opportunity that kept Seattle in the game. Jones and this offense were doing well, but could the Giants get it done? This question remained.

The Giants took a 17-10 lead with 10:41 left in the third quarter thanks to Jones' 30-yard deep-ball touchdown pass to Slayton – another good play call from Daboll. At that point, the Giants had 317 yards rushing, well above their season average (296).

They recovered admirably from an early gut punch and dominated much of the first two quarters (225 yards to Seattle's 90 yards). The Seahawks only had 17 plays in the first half. But the game ended in a tie because Seattle went 45 yards in 20 seconds at the end of the half and scored a field goal.

The Giants' first possession was extremely productive – until it turned into a train wreck. They drove 79 yards to Seattle's 1 and then ran with Eric Gray on consecutive plays (third and fourth down). Not only did Gray not get in, he fumbled the ball and Rayshawn Jenkins returned it 102 yards for a touchdown. An insanely brutal way for the Giants' sluggish offense to fall behind 7-0.

Two possessions later, the Giants responded with another impressive drive – this time actually ending the game with a 7-yard touchdown catch by Wan'Dale Robinson that capped an eight-play, 81-yard march. Finally, after a seven-quarter losing streak, the Giants had cracked the end zone. Maybe their undermanned offense wouldn't be overwhelmed by Seattle's defense after all.

After three drives for each team, the Giants led Seattle 173 to 45 in yards and 11 to three in first downs. As a 7.5-point underdog, no one expected this kind of start.

They faced the difficult task of going up against Seattle's stout defense without Nabers (concussion) and Singletary (groin), who had accounted for 57% of their yards and five of their six touchdowns in a 1-3 start. They desperately needed Slayton and Jalin Hyatt to step up.

Additionally, the Giants entered Sunday having gone six straight quarters without a touchdown as Daboll ran the offense. And the Seahawks' defense ranked second in Pro Football Focus' ratings, including seventh against the run and third in coverage – a big challenge for Daboll. Its offense (31st in run blocking) had just 26 rushing yards on 24 carries in last week's 20-15 loss to Dallas.

The Giants only managed five field goals in this game. They have scored zero touchdowns in two home games this season (both losses). But they had a significant residual advantage over the Seahawks, who lost at Detroit on Monday night – four days after the Giants lost at home to Dallas.

And now the Giants will be able to sleep easy on Sunday night.

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Darryl Slater can be reached at [email protected].