The New York Giants face the Seattle Seahawks for the third straight season on Sunday. Out ‘five questions’ segment this week is with John Gilbert of SB Nation’s Field Gulls fills us in on things we should know about the Seahawks.

Ed: What are the Seahawks four games into the season? Three victories over teams that, honestly, are probably not very good. A loss against an excellent Detroit team in which Seattle gave up 42 points. What is your assessment?

John: You pretty much nailed my assessment. They’ve beaten the three bad teams they’ve played and they gave up 42 and lost by double digits to the serious contender they faced off against.

Most Seattle fans will argue that the defense is better than they played on Monday against the Lions because of injuries to several key players, including Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu and Jerome Baker. However, even before injuries knocked Mafe, Williams and Murphy out the Hawks struggled at times to stop the run game of the Patriots. With that said, in terms of overall metrics, while the defense has been good, they’ve done it against one of the easiest schedules in the NFL, and obviously the rest of the schedule won’t be nearly as friendly, but hopefully it won’t be as rough as it was against the Lions.

Ed: Leonard Williams was a very good player for the Giants. How has he done for Seattle? How important is he to the Seahawks’ defense?

John: Williams has been phenomenal for the Seahawks, and easily one of the best players on the defense both in the back half of the 2023 season and before getting injured in Week 3.

He was second on the defense in total pressures before getting hurt, and is still tied for the team lead in quarterback hits even though he’s only played five snaps in the last two games. He was limited in practice on Thursday, but that’s a lot better than not practicing like last week when he was inactive for the matchup against Detroit, so hopefully he’ll be back in action this weekend.

Ed: If you could take one player off the Giants’ roster and put him in the Seattle lineup who would it be? Why?

John: Last season when you asked me this my answer was Leonard Williams and then a month later the Seahawks traded for Williams and the rest is history.

Thus, with the knowledge that Seahawks general manager John Schneider is going to trade for whoever I answer, I’d like to go ahead and advise Giants fans to enjoy Malik Nabers for the last few weeks he’ll be wearing a Giants uniform before Joe Schoen ships him off to Seattle.

The reason to grab Nabers is not just that he’s a phenomenal young talent, but also he brings a factor to the Seattle offense that is currently lacking outside of DK Metcalf. Metcalf’s speed is no secret, but the Seahawks have a lack of other receivers who can take the top off a defense. Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are good, but they aren’t burners who scare defenses deep. The only speedy receiver on the roster outside of Metcalf is Dareke Young, a key member of the special teams who has played just 11 offensive snaps through the first four games.

Long story short, offenses need receivers whose skill sets complement one another, and the Seahawks have Metcalf and a bunch of possession receivers. It’s a great group of receivers, but there is a decided lack of a receiver who can challenge a defense deep and pull the safeties back when they want to target Metcalf in the underneath and intermediate areas.

Ed: Tell us about a couple of under-the-radar Seattle players we should be aware of on Sunday.

John: On the offensive side of the ball, it’s got to be the guards. Laken Tomlinson is the starting left guard and he’s been bad. Anthony Bradford is the starting right guard and he’s been bad and heavily penalized. Christian Haynes is the backup who has struggled when he’s played, but he’s the rookie third round draft pick, so he’s the lifeblood and savior for many fans who have been calling for him to see increased snaps. He saw his most extensive playing time in Week 4 against the Lions rotating with Bradford at right guard, and the porousness of the line at both guard positions to this point in the season means watching the interior of the offensive line is crucial every game.

On the defensive side of the ball, the outside linebackers are an exciting group. Uchenna Nwosu is the veteran of the bunch, but he has yet to play this season after suffering a knee injury in the preseason. There is hope he could see his first action against the Giants, but even if he doesn’t go Boye Mafe and Derick Hall are a couple of exciting young players who have shown flashes at times of having the ability to develop into players who can make a serious impact on a game.

Ed: The Seahawks are significant favorites on Sunday. Is there anything about this game that concerns you? Is there a path to victory for the Giants?

John: It’s the NFL so it’s always any given Sunday, so there’s always concern that a team can pull an upset.

In this instance the biggest concern is Seattle either coming out flat after the Monday night letdown to the Lions, or looking ahead to the Week 6 Thursday Night Football game against the San Francisco 49ers.

A beautiful day leading to a great sunset over Mt. Rainier with a lenticular cloud. 

Highs today warmed up nicely as there was plenty of sunshine due to the high pressure moving east. Highs peaked in the mid to upper 60s.

Highs today warmed up nicely as there was plenty of sunshine due to the high pressure moving east. Highs peaked in the mid to upper 60s.

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It was a sunny and clear day, but our next frontal system is offshore and slowly moving towards the Pacific Northwest. 

It was a sunny and clear day, but our next frontal system is off shore and slowly moving towards the Pacific Northwest. 

Tonight we will see increasing cloud cover and relatively milder temperatures thanks to that coverage. Lows in the mid to upper 40s.

Tonight we will see increasing cloud cover and relatively milder temperatures thanks to that coverage. Lows in the mid to upper 40s.

The cold front will move onshore early Friday and make its way along the I-5 corridor by 7 a.m. through midday. 

The cold front will move onshore early Friday and make it’s way along the I-5 corridor by 7 a.m. 

Highs Friday will not be as warm as the cold front ushers in cooler temperatures. Highs only in the upper 50s to low 60s.

Highs Friday will not be as warm as the cold front ushers in cooler temperatures. Highs only in the upper 50s to low 60s.

Winds will also get breezy as the afternoon continues, the strongest winds looking to be behind the front through early evening. 

Winds will also get breezy as the afternoon continues, the strongest winds looking to be behind the front through early evening. 

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Skies will dry out and clear out into Saturday with slightly warmer temperatures. Temperatures were nice and warm to start the work week. Slight chance of showers late Monday, but better chance of showers through midweek. 

Skies will dry out and clear out into Saturday.  (FOX 13 Seattle)

The Seahawks now sit at 3-1 after their first loss of the season to the Detroit Lions. They are a banged-up group, especially on defense.

They now welcome the New York Giants into Seattle for the second time in three seasons. What are some of the stats and figures that are relevant to this matchup?

16

The Seahawks have allowed 16 total points to the Giants over the last two matchups. Seattle won at Lumen Field in 2022, 27-13. Last season, the Seahawks dismantled the Giants on Monday Night Football, winning 24-3. They have outscored the Giants 51-16 in those two meetings.

97

Devon Witherspoon returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown against the Giants last season, which is the second-longest pick-six in Seahawks franchise history. Witherspoon tortured the Giants with that interception, along with seven tackles, two sacks, and three quarterback hits. Witherspoon has had a somewhat quiet start to his 2024 campaign. This feels like a good spot for the first breakout game of his sophomore season.

6

NFC titles between these two franchises since the year 2000. These are two of the more storied NFC franchises of the last two decades. Certainly, they are currently on different trajectories. However, both of these teams have a proud history over the last 24 years, including three Super Bowl titles combined.

3.4

New York ranks dead last in the NFL with 3.4 yards per rush. The Giants were held to a measly 26 rushing yards against the Cowboys last Thursday night. They struggle to run the ball. Even with a banged-up defensive line, the Seahawks need to control their lackluster run game.

40

The combined QB pressures for Giants defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux. New York’s strength is their defensive line. The Seahawks will have their hands full. Right tackle Stone Forsythe had an abysmal game against the Lions and his task gets no easier against this front from New York. Christian Haynes began taking the majority of snaps at right guard for the Seahawks. Perhaps he can fare better than Anthony Bradford.

4

The Giants defense has only allowed four red zone touchdowns in four games. That is the third-lowest amount in the NFL. The Seahawks offense cannot afford to settle for field goals in a game where they are favored at home. They must cash in and keep New York at arm’s length.

75.4

The passer rating for Daniel Jones since the beginning of 2023. Among 56 quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts in that time, that ranks 46th. The Seahawks need to fluster Jones. The pass rush and the coverage schemes should make life miserable for the Duke product. He is prone to the critical mistake and this defense is capable of forcing Jones into those situations.

3-8

The Giants are 3-8 in road games since the beginning in 2023. The Seahawks have been playing well at home so far this season. The team, and the fans, will need to bring it once more to make the Giants uncomfortable. The fan noise, mixed with the aggressive Seahawks defense, should make life difficult for Brian Daboll’s squad.