THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Seahawks might need some help with their snap decisions

You saw it. 

The Seahawks committed a seemingly endless string of mistakes, and it cost them an ugly 29-20 loss to the Giants. 

We could pencil in a list of errors. 

Oh, and by the way. 

I’m not talking about the whole, goofy game. 

Just one play. 

The Seahawks put on a clinic of blunders that led to Jason Myers’ 47-yard field goal being blocked with 1:05 remaining. 

Myers’ try could have sent the game into overtime at 23-23 — but as you know by now, the kick was blocked by Isaiah Simmons. 

The ball bounced to Giants receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who jogged 60 yards for a game-clinching touchdown. 

In an instant, the life was sucked out of 68,306 witnesses at Lumen Field, most of whom who were trying to process what they had just seen. 

Where do we start with the Hawks’ litany of mistakes on one single snap, and the ensuing disaster? 

Well, Seattle lined up wrong, failed to see the Giants’ unique strategy, executed their blocks incorrectly, and later discovered that they didn’t even know the rules covering placekicks. 

That just about covers it. 

LET ME ask you a question. 

If you’re in charge of special teams, and hope to knock in a 47-yard field goal, wouldn’t you notice if the other team lined up in very weird formation? 

Specifically, wouldn’t you spot a 6-foot-4, 238-pound linebacker/defensive back setting up in the nose guard’s spot at the line of scrimmage. 

Simmons had never been on a field goal block team. 

Ever. 

Any scouting, though, would tell you he’s a tremendous leaper, and there he is in the middle of the line. 

Gee, what could be up? 

The Giants had only practiced with Simmons in that position once. 

There’s a good reason for that. 

The NFL has a rule against pushing down the center’s head or neck when he snaps the ball. 

You also are prohibited from using any part of another player’s body as leverage when you jump. 

But there’s sort of a gray zone in the case of one player leaning on the center after the snap, while someone else goes for the gap. 

The Giants were prepared for that. 

When Chris Stoll snapped the ball, left guard Laken Tomlinson went low on Rakeem Nunez-Roches — who used that position to hold Tomlinson down, giving Simmons a free hole to leap into the backfield. 

“I think it was something that probably should have been reviewed,’’ Tomlinson said.  

“It was just something that happened. I don’t know. I have feelings about it, but it went how it went.’’ 

The league later explained to the Seahawks that the play is not reviewable, so it’s up to the officials on the field to decide if the defense has done something illegal. 

The officials deemed that Simmons got to Myers’ kick solely on his athleticism, starting at the line of scrimmage and taking no advantage except the gap the Giants created between Stoll and Tomlinson. 

TO MAKE Simmons’ spot on the line even more bizarre in this case, Seahawks safety K’Von Wallace was Simmons’ college teammate at Clemson — and perhaps should have noticed that something was up. 

Simmons had never lined up to try that block, in college or the NFL. 

Could the Seahawks have called time out if Wallace or somebody else noticed Simmons’ position? 

Yep. 

Seattle had one timeout left. 

Ironically, the Giants had considered using Simmons in that spot earlier in the game — but then decided to keep the bit of trickery for a more critical situation. 

Brother, did they get part right! 

Part of the reason for waiting on the attempted block is that it CAN go wrong. 

Everything depends on the officials’ interpretation of Simmons’ starting position, and whether he used another player for leverage. 

The rule states that he has to start on the line of scrimmage. 

No racing up like taking off on a triple jump. 

Giants coach Brian Daboll was holding his breath on the play, however. 

“There is risk-reward, because if you get a penalty then it’s first down for the offense,’’ Daboll said. 

In this case, Seattle would have gotten a first down at the Giants 14-yard line. 

Simmons got lined up right, though, and the Seahawks were doomed. 

Apologies to Mike Macdonald and his staff, but that’s a game-winning play that NEVER should have happened.

Ugh. 

Email: scameron@cdapress.com 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”