SEATTLE – Isaiah Simmons made the “craziest play” of his career by leaping over the line and blocking a potential game-tying field goal in the final minute of a 29-20 victory for the New York Giants over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Lumenveld.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, weren’t too happy with the way things turned out.

Simmons lined up to the left of the long snapper and jumped 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 took 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 selected Simmons as the jumper and saved him for the final minutes.

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

The 6-foot-2 Simmons took down Tomlinson quite easily on the play for the free run on kicker Jason Myers. This was made possible by defensive linemen Rakeem Nunez-Roches pushing down long snapper Chris Still and Dexter Lawrence and doing the same to Tomlinson.

“My goal was to make sure he got over the lineman. I didn’t stop him,” Lawrence said with a chuckle.

Said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald: “There’s a guy in the A-gap. We have to block him. It’s as simple as that. But you can push down. They pushed our right guard down, and he didn’t.” able to reach Simmons.”

Tomlinson appeared to question the legality of the piece and said he believed it should have been revised.

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

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

When Simmons jumped the line, Anderson confirmed through the spokesperson that Steratore’s explanation of the broadcast was correct, saying that no foul was committed because Simmons was on the line of scrimmage and was not using anyone for leverage.

On the issue of Nunez-Roches pushing Stoll down, Anderson said through the spokesperson that “pushing down alone is not a violation and that there was no forcible contact to the head and neck.”

Neither aspect of the play can be assessed, even though it is a scoring play, Anderson said through the spokesperson.

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

The Giants knew the game was in danger. There is a fine line between legal and illegal when it comes to crossing the line on a kick.

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

“(Ghobrial) thought it would be good. He showed me some clips,” Daboll said after the win. “And we held it, too. I kept asking for it during the game, too. (Ghorbial) wanted to set it up, I think. ‘One more, one more.’

“Look, there’s a risk/reward to that. If you get a penalty, that’s a first for the offense.”

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

Simmons, who didn’t play defense during the game, stood on the sideline practicing his exit, knowing what would be called.

The Giants were confident it would work.

“Zay stood on the sideline and said, ‘I’m going to get this,’” Ford-Wheaton said. “I believed him completely. He blocked the ball and the ball literally landed in my hands. It was him who made the play. So, shoutout to Zay.”

“It happened exactly the way we installed it.”

It was a special moment for Simmons. This season hasn’t gone the way he expected. He re-signed with the Giants this season in hopes of making a big impact on the defense. Instead, it has been used sparingly.

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

“I’m sure everyone knows the season isn’t going the way I want it to, so it’s a bit of a sense of relief,” he said. “It’s only been a minute since last year that I’ve really been able to make a big play for the team, that I’ve really had 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.

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

“He won the game,” Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns said. “Zay took us home. He’s the one who did it.’

ESPN Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson contributed to this report.