Giants vs. Seahawks: In-Depth Analysis – Nabers Doubtful, Betting Odds & Picks in Week 5

The New York Giants are struggling offensively as it is and might be missing stellar rookie wideout Malik Nabers on Sunday when they visit the Seattle Seahawks, who are nearly touchdown favorites on the NFL odds.

New York Giants vs. Seattle: 2024 NFL Expert Analysis in Week 5

New York Giants +222

GIANTS INJURY REPORT 10/2

Did Not Participate in Practice:
▪️ CB Adoree’ Jackson (Calf)
▪️ WR Malik Nabers (Concussion Protocol)
▪️ CB Dru Phillips (Calf)
▪️ RB Devin Singletary (Groin)

Limited:
▪️ OLB Brian Burns (Groin)
▪️ WR Wan’Dale Robinson (Heel)

Full:
▪️ LB Matt Adams… pic.twitter.com/xuPYldBLqB

— Dan Salomone (@Dan_Salomone) October 2, 2024

New York comes off a 20-15 home loss to Dallas on Thursday in Week 4. Five times, the Giants offense traveled to the Cowboys’ 34-yard line or closer, including twice into the red zone. Five times they settled for Greg Joseph field goals.

Brian Daboll

“We were 0-for-2 when we got down there,” coach said. “Some of those were third down conversions where we had some opportunities to get there. I think we punted one time. Hit some fourth downs, but ultimately, we threw the ball out there to (wide receiver) Wan’Dale (Robinson) on the one and they made a good tackle on him.”

Heading into this week’s matchup, the Giants have scored a touchdown on six of 12 trips inside the red zone (50 percent), good for the 20th-best mark in the league. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have allowed opponents to score a touchdown on 50 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line, which comes in as the No. 13 red zone defense.

Daniel Jones

Jones completed 29 of 40 passes for 281 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, and rushed four times for three yards in the Dallas loss. Jones’ passing yardage tally was a season high but it was largely a hollow number. Jones focused very heavily on both rookie sensation Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson, with 23 of his completions and 186 of his yards going to the talented duo.

Malik Nabers

However, Nabers left with a concussion and is iffy for Sunday. Nabers leads the NFL with 35 receptions – five more than No. 2 Nico Collins of Houston – is second with 386 yards and tied for third with three touchdown receptions. He is the first player in NFL history to post that combination of numbers through his four career games. Nabers’ 35 receptions is the second-highest four-game total to start a career in league history. Puka Nacua of the Rams had 39 catches in his first four games in 2023. Nabers’ 386 yards is the eighth-highest four-game total.

Nabers’ 35 catches rank first among all Giants players in the first four games of a season, surpassing Steve Smith’s 34 receptions in 2009. His 386 yards are first among rookies and second to Plaxico Burress’ 396 yards in 2005 and his three touchdowns are tied for seventh. Nabers is the third rookie in the Super Bowl era with 30+ receptions in his first four games, joining Anquan Boldin (30 in 2003) and Nacua (39 last year).

Devin Singletary

No. 1 running back Singletary is also in some question after not practicing Wednesday with a groin injury, but it’s not thought to be overly serious. Singletary rushed 14 times for 24 yards and brought in his only target for 14 yards against Dallas but had rushed for a TD in the two previous games. Singletary has forced 20 missed tackles on the ground over the first four games, one behind San Francisco‘s Jordan Mason for the most in the league. Tyrone Tracy and Eric Gray would lead New York’s backfield if Singletary misses any time.

The Defense

The New York defense has largely been solid – it has allowed just four touchdowns on 10 trips inside the red zone (40 percent), the sixth-best mark in the NFL — led by tackle Dexter Lawrence. His 18 total pressures trail only Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs among players on the defensive interior. Lawrence old has registered three sacks through the first four games, which puts him on pace to shatter his previous career-high of 7.5 sacks set in 2022. His 18 total pressures also puts him on pace to break his previous high of 65 pressures, which he reached last season. Additionally, Lawrence has registered 12 total tackles (eight solo), six quarterback hits and a pass defensed.

Seattle Seahawks -280

Seattle’s pass defense had been historically good entering Week 4, but Seattle was blown out 42-29 in Detroit on Monday and allowed Lions receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams to each find the end zone as the two combined for eight receptions for 125 yards and the two touchdowns. Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed all 18 of his pass attempts for 292 yards and the two scores.

Injuries

To be fair, Seattle played without four injured defensive starters in Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu, Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II. That challenging injury situation became even worse when Julian Love went down in the first half. Coach Mike Macdonald didn’t sound concerned that Mafe, Nwosu, Williams or Murphy would be out long, though Murphy might need at least another week.

Detroit averaged 7.8 yards per play, double the 3.9 yards per play average by Seahawks opponents through the first three games.

Mike Macdonald

“The defense wasn’t able to get stops,” Coach said. “Especially in the second half, and there’s a feeling that you see in the guys’ eyes where no one’s hanging their heads, everyone’s just laser-focused, poised, just like we’ve talked about throughout the Denver game. That’s a characteristic of our team that we’ve had throughout the season, so proud of that. It’s easy to start looking around and woe is me type of idea, but that’s not our guys.”

The Defense

Where that Seahawks defense had struggled was against the run and it continued. Lions running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined to run for 118 yards on 26 carries on Monday, good for an average of 4.5 yards per carry, along with three total touchdowns. In their Week 2 win over the Patriots, the Seahawks surrendered 177 yards on 33 carries (5.4 avg.) to running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson.

Geno Smith

The QB is off to a strong start. He leads the NFL in pass attempts (159), completions (115), and passing yards (1,182), while his 72.3 completion percentage ranks second. However, he has thrown just four touchdown passes to go with four interceptions.

Leading the league in passing yards through Week 4: @GenoSmith3. pic.twitter.com/n97GBBm0m9

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 2, 2024

Kenneth Walker III

Running back Walker III returned from a two-game injury absence in Detroit and rushed 12 times for 80 yards and three touchdowns while adding four receptions for 36 yards. It was the first three-touchdown game of Walker’s NFL career, besting his previous high of two, which he accomplished five times over the past two seasons.

DK Metcalf

The WR had 104 yards on seven receptions, making him the first player in franchise history to have three straight games with 100 receiving yards. Metcalf did have a costly lost fumble and now has lost seven receiving fumbles since he entered the NFL in 2019, which is tied for the most in that span. Smith also completed eight passes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 51 yards, and five to Tyler Lockett for 61, while rookie tight end AJ Barner scored his first career touchdown on a 9-yard catch in the second quarter.

“I think it speaks to everybody,” Macdonald said of Smith connecting with 10 different pass catchers. “It speaks to the protection, speaks to the unselfishness that our skill guys have, the precision that we’re playing with some of the routes. Geno just playing within the system and throwing the ball where it needs to go, and we’ve got to continue to do that, and if everybody is a threat at the same time, it’s hard to take away one guy and have success. So that’s what we expect. You need to be able to do that, you can’t just throw it to one guy every snap. They’ll take that away.”

Giants vs Seahawks Info

When: Sunday, 4:25 PM ET
Where: Lumen Field
TV: CBS
Stream Option: https://tv.youtube.com/learn/nflsundayticket/

Giants vs Seahawks Series History

The teams have never met in the postseason, with Seattle leading 11-10 all-time. They faced off last season in New Jersey and the Seahawks rolled 24-3. Then-rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon scored on a 97-yard interception return late in the third quarter, and the Seahawks tied a team record with 11 sacks. Geno Smith threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf late in the first quarter after a strip-sack by defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. set up a short drive and Kenneth Walker III scored on a 1-yard run just before halftime. Daniel Jones was picked off twice for the Giants. New York last defeated the Seahawks in 2020 when quarterback Colt McCoy led the team to a 17-12 win in Seattle.

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