SEATTLE — Bad move.
Not blocking Brian Burns, that is.
There were plenty of big plays from a variety of different players for the Giants on Sunday in their 29-20 victory over the Seahawks at Lumen Field.
Brian Burns, one of the most high-profile and highest-paid players on the roster, came up with one of the biggest ones.
Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks’ first-year head coach, rolled the dice and came up empty on a huge gamble early in the fourth quarter.
It was fourth-and-1 on the Seattle 35-yard line and rather than punt the ball away, Macdonald kept his offense on the field.
It proved to be a bad decision as Burns stormed in for a sack of Geno Smith, giving the Giants the ball on the 27.
That led to Greg Joseph’s third field goal, a 24-yard chip shot to extend the Giants’ lead to 23-13 with 11:54 to go.
Burns figured the Seahawks would probably run the ball in the short-yardage situation.
He did not figure on what actually happened.
“Initially they gave me sort of a funky look between the two tight ends,’’ Burns said. “And I kind of just shot my gap, I was ready to just f–k up whatever they had coming. I’m thinking it was a run play because it was fourth-and-1. But they wanted to get pretty and not block me. OK. Alright, that’s smart. Can’t miss the free ones.
“I was kind of shocked but I was trying to do my job.’’
Darius Slayton, after hauling in a 41-yard pass from Daniel Jones in the third quarter, got to his feet and made the typical “first down’’ motion with his arms.
He was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct as the NFL is cracking down on any gestures that mimic a shooting gun gesture.
That was not Slayton’s intention.
“You know what’s funny, when I got up, I know that if you are close to the guy, that’s when you get ’em,’’ Slayton said. “So I purposely made sure there was nobody near me so I wasn’t pointing at anybody, I was just pointing into nothing.’’
Head coach Brian Daboll said Slayton afterwards was apologetic.
“I told him I’m done though, no more points for me,’’ Slayton said. “Or if I do point, it’s going to be like this, one finger.’’
Four games into the season, the Giants were lacking in many areas and one was glaring: They almost refused to throw the ball to their tight ends.
In those four games, rookie Theo Johnson had three receptions for 37 yards and Daniel Bellinger had two catches for 20 yards.
That was it.
Five receptions from the tight end position.
That total was nearly matched by the Giants tight ends in the first half.
In need of new targets with rookie WR Malik Nabers not playing and in concussion protocol, Jones found Johnson four times for 43 yards in the first half.
Johnson’s 22-yard gain in the second quarter helped set up the first Giants touchdown, Jones’ 7-yard strike to Wan’Dale Robinson.
Johnson finished with five catches for 48 yards.
Seahawks QB Smith did not sugarcoat the performance of his team. “We played bad,’’ he said. “That’s the reality. I thought we came out slow. Turned the ball over, not finishing drives. I mean, all the above. That will get you beat in the NFL on any given Sunday.’’
