Giants dominate Seahawks in 41-7 victory

There was no gray area to this 41-7 outcome, no bright side to the Seahawks' largest defeat ever at Qwest Field.

Seattle trailed by 21 points before it gained a first down, didn't force a punt until the third quarter, and allowed the New York Giants to jump out to their largest halftime lead since 1959.

Seattle's most productive play was a replay challenge that gave the Seahawks a first-quarter fumble recovery.

"For the second week in a row, we go out and throw out a miserable performance," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said.

It was a 34-point face plant made all the more conspicuous because it was totally foreseeable. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was out with a concussion, rookie left tackle Russell Okung could not return from an ankle injury, and three-quarters of the starting defensive line was missing.

Seattle started backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst behind third-string left tackle Chester Pitts, and in a game in which Seattle needed every break it could get, the Seahawks didn't help themselves. Leon Washington fumbled a kickoff, the Seahawks committed nine penalties, and the Giants (6-2) scored TDs on five consecutive possessions in the first half for a 35-0 lead.

"That was more than we could handle today," Carroll said.

Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for two touchdowns, and quarterback Eli Manning threw scoring passes to three different players. The Seahawks have been outscored 74-10 the past two games, and Ben Obomanu's 36-yard catch in the fourth quarter was their first TD in 11 quarters.

Seattle reached the midpoint of its season, and arrived to find a crossroads.

"We have seen the upside of our team," Carroll said, "and we've also seen the downside. To be here at this time, really what I'm seeing is a coach's challenge. We have to figure out how to get ourselves back on track."

The Seahawks have been good enough to be tied for first in the eminently winnable NFC West, and bad enough they haven't been able to score in the first three quarters of their past two games. Seattle won four games by creating turnovers, playing stout defense and taking advantage of opportunities, but in three of its four defeats it scored just once.

The biggest concern is the offense, which at times is not only incapable of getting out of its own way, but is capable of tripping the rest of the team up. Seattle didn't cross midfield in the second half of a defeat at St. Louis in Week 4, and failed to gain a first down for the first 27 minutes at Oakland.

The problems of that offense are way bigger than just quarterback. The game Sunday demonstrated that.

Hasselbeck was out with a concussion, making Whitehurst the starter for the first time in his five-year career. He completed the first regular-season pass he attempted. Only problem ... that completion lost 2 yards.

Seattle had negative-4 yards of offense after two possessions and finished with 15 yards in the first period. Whitehurst was intercepted twice in the first half.

"It was a disappointing day for us," Whitehurst said. "I was disappointed in the way that I played, and I have to get better."

But Whitehurst wasn't the reason Seattle lost this game.

"Charlie survived his first game," Caroll said. "He made it through it. He was poised and handled it OK."

And after all this, Seattle is 4-4 and tied for first in the NFC West with St. Louis, which discovered Sunday the best way to climb up in the division is to not play.

Seattle's 4-4 record is fitting for a team that could go either way the remainder of the season.

"It's a very difficult spot to be in," Carroll said, "because we're not sure if we can get this thing cranking the way we want to, how soon we can, until we go back to work and start working at it."

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com