Russell Wilson’s dwindling MVP campaign likely took its last breath on Sunday.
With a chance to maintain control of NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks dropped a massive dud at home and lost 17-12 to the New York Giants.
Led by an aggressive defense and an offensive from backup quarterback Colt McCoy that did just enough, the Giants scored the first win of the season for the NFC East against a team with a record win. And they did it on the street.
No Russell Wilson rally this time
The Giants kept the Seahawks out of the end zone until a Wilson touchdown pass to Chris Carson at 6:09 in the fourth quarter cut New York’s lead to 17-12. It wasn’t enough.
Seattle had a chance to win the game after forcing a 1:55 punt. But there were no Wilson exploits when a late sack pitched Seattle with a quarterfinal that didn’t convert, allowing the Giants to take a knee to run out of time.
Russell Wilson and the Seahawks remain in a dogfight for NFC West. (AP Photo / Larry Maurer)
The Giants didn’t get much from McCoy, who was just making his eighth NFL start since the 2012 season in place of an injured Daniel Jones. But they didn’t need it. The 10-year-old NFL veteran completed 13 of 22 attempts to pass for 105 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
New York instead focused on its run attack, led by Wayne Gallman with 135 yards over 16 runs. A suffocating defense that Wilson neutralized made the heavy lift on the other side of the ball.
Giants dismiss Wilson’s MVP offer
The Giants fired Wilson five times and forced him to do a pedestrian performance on his home lawn. Wilson completed 27 of 43 passes for 263 yards with a touchdown and an interception, a far cry from the video game numbers he put up on a 5-0 start that put the seasoned Seahawks quarterback on the early MVP race.
Wilson’s performance stalled in the second half of the season along with the Seahawks, who are now 3-4 since their 5-0 start.
Great result for NFC East, West races
The result has a major impact on the NFC East and NFC West races. The Giants improved to 5-7, which gives them a clear lead in the meager NFC East. The 4-7 Washington Football Team is half a game back from the Giants and will face the 11-0 Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday.
The story goes on
New York also has a distinct advantage over Washington thanks to a season sweep by its rival The 3-8-1 Philadelphia Eagles and 3-8 Dallas Cowboys, who play the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday, are even further behind.
NFC West remains open after the Los Angeles Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals 38-28 on Sunday. The Rams and Seahawks are now 8-4 at the top of the division and the Cardinals are likely to face 6-6 for a place on the wild card.
The Rams and Seahawks will face each other in Seattle in Week 16 in a game that could ultimately decide the division. Seattle won a week 10 matchup in Los Angeles.
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