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Why was the Giants' game-winning field goal block against the Seahawks allowed to count?

The Giants stunned the Seahawks 29-20 on Sunday afternoon in Seattle

ryan young
Staff writer
·2 min read
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The New York Giants stunned Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon, thanks in part to a wild blocked field goal returned for a touchdown in the final minutes at Lumen Field.

While they were on the wrong side of it, and it looked illegal in the moment based on how Isaiah Simmons flew through the Seattle line, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald defended the play after the game.

They simply got beat.

“There’s a guy in the A gap, we need to block him. It’s pretty much that simple,” Macdonald said. “But you’re allowed to push down, they pushed down on our right guard, and he wasn’t able to get to Simmons.”

Simmons came flying through the Seahawks’ line to make the block on the play, which Bryce Ford-Wheaton then ran back 60 yards for a touchdown. The play sealed the 29-20 win for the Giants and avoided overtime, which seemed likely after Geno Smith started leading the Seahawks out of a late 10-point hole.

That play, however, at least looked illegal in the moment — as defenders aren’t allowed to jump over the offensive line in order to block a field goal. While it appeared as if Simmons did just that, Macdonald confirmed that Simmons simply jumped in through the gap that was created after one of their players was blocked down to the ground — which is also a legal move.

To Kimes’ point, it is strange that type of push-down block isn’t seen more on field-goal attempts. Regardless, Simmons’ move was completely legal on Sunday afternoon.

Daniel Jones went 23 of 34 for 257 yards and threw two touchdowns in the win for the Giants. Darius Slayton, who caught a clutch touchdown in the second half after being hit for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, had 122 yards on eight catches, and Tyrone Tracy had 129 yards on 18 carries on the ground.

Smith, who entered the week as the league’s passing leader, went 28 of 40 for 284 yards and a touchdown. He was also the Seahawks’ rushing leader with 73 yards on the ground.

Seattle has dropped back-to-back games with the loss. It’ll have to turn around quickly for a matchup with the San Francisco 49ers (2-3) on Thursday night.