The Giants have been competitive over the past few weeks but came up short against the Cowboys last Thursday night to drop to 1-3 on the year.
They now travel to Seattle to face a team that began the season 3-0 but just suffered their first loss of the year to the Lions on Monday night.
Here are the biggest stories to watch as the Giants look to bounce back…
Can Brian Burns step up and start producing more?
The Giants made a big trade in the offseason to acquire Burns, who they are counting on to help them generate constant pressure without needing to blitz. However, he hasn’t produced as much as they would have hoped so far.
Burns has one sack, two tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits in the first four games. By contrast, he had three sacks, five tackles for loss and five quarterback hits in the first four games last season with Carolina.
This could be a good week for Burns to step up, though. Geno Smith has been sacked 11 times so far and Burns will be hoping to add to that number as he’ll be primarily matched up with right tackle Stone Forsythe. A 26-year old former sixth-round pick, Forsythe has given up two sacks and a team-high five pressures per game so far.
Can the Giants benefit from the extra preparation time?
Coming off a Thursday night game, the Giants have a long week to prepare. This advantage is potentially compounded by the fact that Seattle just played on Monday night, so they have a short week of preparation.
New York also faced Seattle with a long week to prepare last October, but they lost, 24-3, so that doesn’t necessarily bode well for their chances on Sunday. However, Seattle gave up 42 points on Monday night, so the Giants should be able to emulate some of the things Detroit had success with, as it would be a tall order for Seattle to fix everything from that defensive performance on a short week.
Will New York be able to find a way to get into the end zone?
The Giants probably would have beaten Dallas if they hadn’t been forced to settle for a field goal on each of their five scoring drives. Simply put, they need to find a way to convert drives with touchdowns.
New York scored six touchdowns in the first three games, but three of those came from Malik Nabers, so they’ll need to find some other options down in the red zone if he is unavailable.
The only Giants player with more than two offensive touchdowns last season who remains on their roster is Darius Slayton, and three of his four scores came from beyond the red zone. Saquon Barkley was their primary red zone option last year, so look for the Giants to lean on Devin Singletary or Tyrone Tracy if they get near the end zone.
How will the Giants offense function if Malik Nabers is limited or unavailable?
Nabers is currently dealing with a concussion. That’s a problem for the Giants’ passing game because he accounts for over 40 percent of their statistical output.
In recent seasons, the pattern always seems to be that Slayton starts off in a rotational role but then is forced into a starting role due to injuries — and he has usually produced well in these situations. Isaiah Hodgins has also produced as an injury replacement in the past, so the Giants may opt to elevate him from the practice squad rather than count on someone like Jalin Hyatt stepping up.
Can the Giants slow down the Seahawks’ league-leading passing game?
The secondary has been a weakness for the Giants so far, a situation that hasn’t been helped by multiple injuries. This week should therefore be a tough matchup for them, because Seattle has the league’s best passing offense.
Smith leads the NFL as he is averaging 296 passing yards per game. One reason for this is that second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has taken his game to another level. He leads Seattle with 25 receptions to bolster a strong receiver group that already includes veterans Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.
