Ex-Jet Adams praises Giants

Jamal Adams bullied his way into the backfield, ripped the ball out of the hands of the Giants quarterback and raced in the other direction for a game-changing touchdown.

That was last season, when the Giants were more hapless than Adams’ Jets. Thirteen months later, everything is different.

Adams is likely headed to the playoffs, but that path got a little rockier Sunday when the Giants won their fourth straight to remain in first place in the NFC East, at the expense of Adams’ Seahawks. From across the line of scrimmage, it’s obvious why the Giants are not the same team now as they were then — even with stars Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley sidelined.

“Mentality and confidence,” Adams said after the Giants’ 17-12 victory.

Adams had a game-high 11 tackles and is now the NFL’s leader among defensive backs with 7.5 sacks in eight starts. He was all over the field — playing just as well as he did in the New York rivalry game last season — and yet the result was different because the Giants ran the ball down the throat of the Seahawks for 190 yards, even when the play calls were no surprise.

Quarterback Colt McCoy and running back Alfred Morris weren’t on the Giants for the 34-27 loss to the Jets on Nov. 10, 2019. And nobody expected them to play key parts in the Giants’ upset Sunday. It’s certainly possible neither will have a role if Giants-Seahawks is an NFC wild-card rematch next month.

“This stings,” Adams said. “I’m pissed off. Obviously, coming from where I came from, [losing to] a New York team just hits a little different for me. But it’s not about me. We’re going to bounce back, we’re going to figure it out, we’re going to correct our mistakes, but it definitely stings.”