The New York Giants return to MetLife Stadium in search of their first home victory in the 2023 NFL regular season when they host the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.
Last week, the G-Men dropped to 1-2 on the season with a 30-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, while Seattle are coming off a sparkling offensive showing, defeating the Carolina Panthers 37-27 to improve to 2-1.
Match preview
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Three weeks into the new campaign, the Giants' defensive holes seem to be getting bigger with every game, as they gave up 441 total yards to the Niners last week, while as a group, they have allowed 28+ points in each of their encounters.
When you have a defensive unit like New York, which have produced the second-fewest sacks in the league (two), you had better have a good cover team to make up for those deficiencies, and unfortunately for Brian Daboll, his secondary have been mediocre at best in 2023, ranked 24th in the NFL for passing yards allowed per game (223.7).
Combine that with the fact that the Giants have conceded over 4.6 yards per carry to their three main opposing running backs this season, and it is easy to see why they currently sit bottom of the NFC East.
Based on what the offence showed us in San Francisco, it would seem that they need their two-time Pro Bowl running back in the worst way, because without him last weekend, they looked well below average, to put it kindly, managing just 29 total yards on the ground, which can explain why they only converted three of their 12 third downs.
As if all of that was not bad enough, their offensive line have had difficulties containing opposing pass rushes, with New York taking 12 sacks in three contests this season, while their high-priced quarterback has faced a pressure rating of 40.2%.
Through three weeks of the new campaign, the Giants have turned the ball over five times while failing to earn a single takeaway themselves, but the silver lining amid all of that is that they are only a game below .500, and there are still plenty of games to play.
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While the Giants have struggled to contain opposing offences, the Seahawks have piled on the points when in possession, scoring precisely 37 in back-to-back games after only managing 13 in their opening loss versus the Los Angeles Rams (30-13).
With 295+ passing yards in their last two games, we have seen this offence move the ball through the air with surgical precision, and it has very much been by committee, with nine players catching at least one pass in their two victories this season.
The offence were aided last Sunday by a strong ground game, which racked up 146 rushing yards, but overall, they are middle of the pack in that department with an average of 104.3 rushing yards per game this season, good for 16th in the NFL.
Pete Carroll must be relieved to see his offensive unit starting to produce because it has been a struggle for Seattle in the secondary all year, with this group allowing over 300 yards through the air in all three of their contests, with only the Los Angeles Chargers having conceded a higher per game average than the Seahawks current mark of 328.0.
For as poor as they have been in pass coverage, though, the Seahawks have improved their pass rush, registering three sacks on Panthers veteran QB Andy Dalton while hitting him 11 times, and posting multiple sacks in consecutive games after failing to get one in their opener.
They head into this encounter having triumphed in nine successive week four NFL fixtures while winning nine of their last 10 road matchups against NFC East opponents since the start of the 2012 campaign.
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Team News
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The G-Men will be desperate to have Saquon Barkley return after the two-time Pro Bowl running back missed their game last week with an ankle sprain and has seen limited practice time this week, Andrew Thomas and Azeez Ojulari could be question marks with hamstring strains, Ben Bredeson took part in practices all week after previously being under concussion protocol, DJ Davidson has a sore elbow and Daniel Bellinger is probable despite a minor neck injury.
If Barkley cannot go, that means a lot of the pressure will be back on the shoulders of Daniel Jones, who did not perform well against the Niners, going 22 of 32 for 137 yards and an interception with a low rating of 64.2, Matt Breida was their leading rusher last week with four carries for 17 yards and a score, Parris Campbell had six grabs for just 24 yards, while Darius Slayton came up with three catches for 32 yards.
Kayvon Thibodeaux registered the first sack of the season for this team in the loss to San Fran, DJ Davidson and Leonard Williams each had a half sack, Xavier McKinney and Bobby Okereke came up with six tackles each, with Micah McFadden leading the G-Men in that category with nine.
Devin Bush should be available for Seattle on Monday despite a sore shoulder, as should Julian Love, who hurt his hamstring heading into their previous encounter, Tariq Woolen was sidelined last week due to a problem in his chest, while Charles Cross and Coby Bryant sat out because of toe injuries.
Geno Smith has thrown for over 295 yards in his last two games, tossing a touchdown pass to Jake Bobo a week ago, DK Metcalf led the Seahawks with six grabs for 112 yards, Tyler Lockett caught three passes for 34 yards, while Kenneth Walker racked up 156 total yards, including 97 on the ground with a pair of rushing scores.
Jarran Reed had a pair of QB sacks for Seattle in the victory over the Panthers, Boye Mafe had one himself and Mike Jackson registered six tackles, second only to the Seahawks' Devon Witherspoon (eight) for the most on that day.
Head To Head
The overall series between these teams is dead even at 10 a piece, with Seattle winning the lone meeting between the two last season 27-13, as Geno Smith found DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett for scores, with Kenneth Walker running one in himself, while Jason Myers was 2/2 on field goals.
New York won the previous encounter between the two in 2020 17-12, as Alfred Morris ran in for a touchdown and caught one from Colt McCoy, while Graham Gano connected on a 48-yard fourth-quarter field goal.
It has been nearly a decade since these sides squared off in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on December 12, 2013, in a game which was all Seattle, with Stephen Hauschka kicking three field goals, Marshawn Lynch running for a two-yard score and Russell Wilson finding Doug Baldwin for a 12-yard TD pass as the Seahawks romped 23-0.
New York have not beaten Seattle at home since October 2008, when they came away with a convincing 44-6 triumph on a day when Eli Manning threw a touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon and Sinorice Moss, with the latter also catching a TD throw from David Carr, Brandon Jacobs had a one-yard score and John Carney booted three field goals.
We say: New York Giants 20-27 Seattle Seahawks
Both teams have their share of glaring holes defensively, but overall, New York seem to be a lot leakier across the board when compared to Seattle.
The difference in this one will be the consistency that the Seahawks have shown offensively, with many players doing their part to keep the offence moving, while the Giants seem to go as far as Barkley can take them.
Joel Lefevre
