There’s always a caveat when good things happen in 2020 — even within New York’s football landscape.
Week 13 will feature the Giants playing meaningful football in December for the first time in years after securing first place in the NFC East with a 19-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
At 4-7, it will be a difficult enough task to hold onto their perch atop the division late-Sunday afternoon in Seattle against an 8-3 Seahawks whom they have lost their last four meetings. The Giants haven’t defeated the Seahawks since 2010, which just so happened to be in Seattle.
To stack the deck even further, it looks more than likely that Daniel Jones will be unable to go, forcing New York to start veteran backup Colt McCoy — an 11-year veteran who has only made seven starts over the last nine seasons.
He hasn’t won a start since 2014, steering the Washington Football Team to an overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys, while attempting just 102 regular-season passes over the last five years. That included 10 attempts (and six completions) in relief of Jones against Cincinnati in Week 12 to help see out the Giants’ third-straight victory.
The surprise appearance featured a conservative showing from the 34-year-old, averaging just 5.2 yards per completion as he was tasked to play the role of game manager more than playmaker.
It’s a responsibility that will likely remain the same on Sunday in Seattle.
“Look, he’s a vet, he has a lot of experience,” Giants head coach Joe Judge said. “He goes out there with a good amount of savvy, can really manage a game. We’ll set the game up however we need to.”
While the Seahawks pose as an intimidating first challenge for McCoy, their pass defense is the worst in football, allowing over 400 more yards (3,617) more than the second-worst unit, the Atlanta Falcons.
That doesn’t mean the Giants will necessarily deviate from an expected plan of McCoy utilizing short, play-action passes to try and get the Giants rolling.
Luckily for him, New York’s running game has looked as good as ever this year, posting 130 yards or more on the ground in six of their last eight games.
Wayne Gallman is coming off a career-best 94-yard performance against the Bengals and has been consistent when called upon, averaging four yards per carry this season.
Any momentum gained in the running game would take that much more pressure of McCoy’s shoulders, as he could very well be leading the Giants into one of their most important games in quite some time.
