Isaiah Simmons' blocked FG leads to score as Giants defeat Seahawks

SEATTLE -- Isaiah Simmons made the "craziest play" of his career by jumping over the line to block a potential tying field goal in the final minute of a 29-20 victory for the New York Giants over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Lumen Field.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, weren't all that happy with the way it all went down.

Simmons lined up to the left of the long snapper and leaped over right guard Laken Tomlinson to make the play on a 47-yard field goal attempt with the score 23-20 and less than a minute remaining. Rookie Bryce Ford-Wheaton scooped it and ran 60 yards for the game-clinching score.

It was a play the Giants (2-3) drew up Tuesday after seeing something on film from Seattle. They picked Simmons to be the leaper and saved it for the final minutes.

"I think this is my craziest play I ever made," said Simmons, a rare athlete who was the No. 8 overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals out of Clemson in 2020. "I think it's just the fact that I jumped over."

The 6-foot-4 Simmons cleared Tomlinson rather easily on the play for the free run at kicker Jason Myers. This was made possible by defensive linemen Rakeem Nunez-Roches pushing down on long snapper Chris Still and Dexter Lawrence doing the same to Tomlinson.

"My goal was to make sure he got over the lineman. I didn't hold him down," Lawrence said with a chuckle.

Said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald: "There's a guy in the A-gap. We need to block him. It's pretty much that simple. But you're allowed to push down. They pushed down on our right guard, and he wasn't able to get to Simmons."

Tomlinson seemed to call into question the legality of the play, saying it should have been reviewed.

It was legal because Simmons did not have a running start and did not use any of the defenders for leverage. He was also lined up in the gap between Stoll and Tomlinson, not directly over the long snapper, rules expert Gene Steratore explained on the CBS broadcast.

NFL officiating rules analyst Walt Anderson confirmed to a pool reporter through an NFL spokesperson that the Giants' blocked field goal was legal.

On Simmons jumping over the line, Anderson confirmed via the spokesperson that Steratore's explanation on the broadcast was correct, saying there was no foul because Simmons was on the line of scrimmage and did not use anyone as leverage.

On the matter of Nunez-Roches pushing down on Stoll, Anderson said via the spokesperson that "pushing down alone is not a foul and there was no forcible contact to the head and neck."

Neither aspect of the play is reviewable even though it's a scoring play, per Anderson via the spokesperson.

"Well executed play in a critical situation," Giants coach Brian Daboll said after the game.

The Giants knew there was risk to the play. There is a fine line between legal and illegal when it comes to leaping the line on a kick.

Still, it was something they thought could work after first-year special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial noticed a deficiency while watching film of the Seahawks. He brought it to Daboll, and it took on a life of its own from there.

"[Ghobrial] thought it would be good. He showed me a few clips," Daboll said after the win. "And we held it, too. I kept asking for it, too, during the game. [Ghorbial], I guess, wanted to set it up. 'One more, one more.'

"Look, there is risk/reward to it. If you get a penalty, that's a first down for the offense."

The Seahawks had just scored a minute earlier to make it a one-score game. They were at the Giants' 28-yard line before stalling to set up the field goal attempt.

Simmons, who didn't play a defensive snap in the contest, was on the sideline practicing his get-off knowing what was about to be called.

The Giants were confident it would work.

"Zay was on the sideline saying, 'I'm going to get this,'" Ford-Wheaton said. "I believed him to the fullest. He blocked it, the ball literally landed right in my hands. It was him that made the play. So, shoutout, to Zay.

"It happened exactly how we installed it."

For Simmons, it was a special moment. This season has not gone how he expected. He re-signed with the Giants this offseason hoping to make a major impact on defense. Instead, he has been used sparingly.

This was by far his biggest contribution this season. Simmons has just seven tackles and no impact plays.

"I'm sure everybody knows the season ain't going how I want it, so it's kind of just a feeling of relief," he said. "It's just been a minute since I've been able to go make a huge play for the team since last year really, that I really got to go out there and make a big play for the team. So just being able to go out there and, I mean, call it what it is, win the game for the team. Shoot, it felt good."

It was a big win for the Giants, who were seven-point underdogs to the Seahawks (3-2) on the road. And the biggest play of the game came from an unlikely source.

"He won the game," Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns said. "Zay took us home. He's the one that did it."

ESPN Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson contributed to this report.