Studs and Duds from Seattle’s 24-3 win over Giants

Good morning 12’s, who are certainly reveling in the Seattle Seahawks’ dominant 24-3 win over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. The Seahawks faced a rudderless Giants squad and took full advantage in a way we have not seen from them in a few years, especially defensively.

Seattle feasted on a weak offensive line and bad quarterback en route to a 3-1 start. Now, they head into their Week 5 bye on a high note as the team attempts to get healthy.

But of course, we couldn’t end a week in the NFL without another edition of Studs and Duds.

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Oh yes, we are double dipping with Witherspoon being the lead on both Studs and Duds, as well as last night’s takeaways article. His night was just that good.

Witherspoon tied a Seahawks franchise record for longest pick-6, and became the first rookie in NFL history to have 2+ sacks and an interception return of 95+ yards. Yeah, you’re going to make the Studs list with a night like this.

It shouldn’t be overlooked at how crucial a moment it was in the game when Witherspoon snagged his first career interception. The Giants were at Seattle’s 3-yard line, and were threatening to cut deep into the Seahawks’ suddenly fragile looking 14-3 lead. Instead, it was a touchdown going the other way to essentially put the game out of reach.

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Only a historic performance from Witherspoon could supplant Bobby Wagner as the No. 1 Stud of the night, because we should not be overlooking his tremendous performance. Wagner continues to defy age and prove the Seahawks shouldn’t have moved on from him, even momentarily.

Against the Giants, the future first ballot Hall of Fame linebacker led the team with 17 tackles, recorded two sacks, and had two tackles for a loss. Wagner continues to be a heat-seeking missile to anyone unfortunate enough to be holding the football in his immediate vicinity.

No. 1 Dud – Second half offense

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

It was a weird game for the Seahawks offense. A first quarter marked with endless penalties, an incredible touchdown pass to DK Metcalf, and Geno Smith missing time with injury concerns. By the time the second half rolled around, Seattle’s offense just felt out of synch and was not able to make much of an impact.

Their first two drives in the third quarter resulted in no points. A failed 4th down conversion, and another Jason Myers missed field goal to add to his streaky season. Fortunately, with how the defense was performing, the Seahawks could afford a less-than-stellar outing from the offense. Hardly a concern this week, but some things to clean up during the bye.

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Welcome to the Studs list, Noah Fant! I have been saying this for a while now, but I believe the most underutilized offensive weapon the Seahawks have is tight end Noah Fant. He’s big, can block well, and runs like the wind – as evidenced by his 51-yard race to help set up a touchdown.

Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been using Seattle’s stable of talented tight end in really creative ways in the run game and pass blocking. But once the offensive line gets healthier, I would like to see Fant incorporated more heavily into the passing attack.

No. 4 Stud – Defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

We need to give defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt his flowers for last night’s game. It’s been a bumpy start to his tenure as the man running Seattle’s defense, but in 2023, his unit is looking considerably better each week. It all culminated on Monday night with the best defensive performance from the Seahawks we’ve seen in years.

Seattle recorded 11 sacks, snagged two interceptions, and held an NFL team to only three points while playing on the road. Hopefully, the defensive improvement continues and the team is able to build something lasting from this impressive outing.

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Story originally appeared on Seahawks Wire