Storylines for New York Giants' Week 8 Game at Seattle

The Giants close out the first half of their season on the road against the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Oct 26, 2022 9:46 AM EDT

In this story:

The 6-1 Giants are looking to close out the first half of the season with another win this weekend against the Seattle Seahawks.

But once again, the Giants enter a weekend game an underdog, a sign of disrespect the players say they're not concerned about.

“I don't even care for that question anymore,” said safety Xavier McKinney about the lack of respect shown to the team. “I’m tired of answering it because it’s the same thing every week. Obviously, we know that. I don’t care. We don’t care as a team. The only thing we can do is keep focusing on what we can do and keep getting better.”

With that being the week's theme, as it is every week, let's look at the top stories ahead of Sunday's game in Seattle.

Decision Day

Chances are, by the time you read this, a decision will have been made regarding offensive lineman Nick Gates, whose 21-day window following his activation from the PUP list is over.

The Giants' choices are to either activate Gates or leave him on PUP the rest of the year. Given the injuries the team currently has along the offensive line's interior--guard/backup center Ben Bredeson (MCL) is going to miss at least a couple of weeks per reports--getting Gates back sure would be a godsend.

Gates, remember, hasn't played football since suffering a horrific broken leg injury on September 16, 2021, that would eventually require multiple surgeries to repair. He's been doing everything asked of him in practice, including testing his leg by working against resistance, but the ultimate decision comes down to what the trainers and doctors see.

Even if Gates is good to go, the odds of him being thrown out there right away are slim as head coach Brian Daboll will likely want to ramp him up further. Let's hope that Gates clears this last hurdle and can be the player he was before his injury.

Next Man Up...Again

Raise your hand if you're tired of wondering who the next man up is for the oft-injure Giants week after week.

Yeah, us too. Yet here we are again, and this week, the big question is how the Giants intend to replace the production of one Daniel Bellinger at tight end in the offense.

We detailed the options in this article, but we include the item in our top storylines because it is a big deal. Bellinger was key in both the passing game and in run blocking, and we're especially curious to see what the coaches do to compensate for his loss in the running game, what with a new right tackle lining up on the line.

Hello, Old Friend

The Giants will face a Seahawks team quarterbacked by Geno Smith, the former Jets quarterback who will be forever known as the man who stepped in for Eli Manning when Ben McAdoo benched the Giants legend.

Smith has been playing surprisingly well for the Seahawks. His 66.8 rating is fourth in the league, and he has a league-best 73.5 completion percentage among the 28 quarterbacks with at least 130 attempts.

He's also tied for sixth in that group with 11 touchdowns thrown to only three interceptions (fourth lowest in that group). Smith has always had talent, and now he finally has a team that not only gives him a chance to show it but a system that enhances what he does best.

Smith will no doubt be aiming to get the message back to the New York area, which turned against him and gave up on him, that he's still very much a viable quarterback, so look for him to be extra motivated this week against the Giants.

Stopping Kenneth Walker III

The Giants run defense will face potential rookie of the year candidate Kenneth Walker III, who has rushed for 353 yards in his last three games on 52 carries, good for 6.78 yards per carry.

That's not good news for a Giants run defense that has allowed 144.4 yards on the ground to opponents (28th) or 5.74 yards per pop (32nd). But we've been sort of saying this for the last three meetings, and the Giants have found a way to get it done, even if they have to concede a few extra rushing yards than they'd like.

But Walker is different. He's scored four rushing touchdowns in his last four games and is averaging just under 4.0 yards after contact. The Giants' defense has missed 51 tackles this season, with starting inside linebacker Tae Crowder leading the way with 11. The Giants better ensure they're not letting Walker take any of them along for a ride.