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As the New York Giants celebrated their rousing upset victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Sunday, head coach Pete Carroll attempted to gather his thoughts.
What in the world just happened? How was the offense stifled? Who were those monsters stomping around in blue?
Those are just some of the questions Carroll asked himself and later repeated to reporters.
“It’s just an uncharacteristic type of feeling that we were not putting any points on the board,” Carroll said after the game. “Offensively, we had trouble all day long. Give them credit. They’ve been playing really good ball. I need to look at the film to see what the heck happened, and why it was like that, so much so.
“We never got moving. It just isn’t like that. None of us have seen us play like that, so it was very difficult.”
The Giants’ defensive dominance didn’t just take Carroll by surprise, it took the entire football world by surprise.
Entering the game as 10.5-point (or even 11-point in some places) underdogs, many expected the Giants to be blown out of the water by at least two or three scores. Even with as well as their defense has played, they were no match for the high-powered Seahawks.
Only, they were.
“They did a nice job of adjusting and changing the way that they played their coverages. They made it very multiple within the structure, and gave us some problems,” Carroll added. “I’m really surprised that this is how we looked against this game plan that they had. I thought we could do a lot of stuff that just didn’t happen for us. I need to see why, and really break it down. I can’t tell you right now.”
It’s rare to see Carroll so flabbergasted. He lacked answers, he lacked understanding and he struggled to rationalize the loss. But in the end, all he could do was tip his cap to the Giants.
“We kind of have lived with a lot of big plays, and a lot of explosion, and that didn’t happen today, they did a nice job of keeping that from happening. That’s a nice way to play us, and they were able to get it done,” Carroll said.
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