Why the Giants Will Beat the Seahawks, Why They Won’t, and What Will Probably Happen
Despite a three-game winning streak, the oddsmakers have the 4-7 Giants as a double-digit underdog this weekend ahead of their game with the 8-3 Seattle Seahawks. But can the Giants pull off the upset? Let's take a look at both scenarios and what will probably happen.
Why they will beat the Seahawks
Head coach Joe Judge has stressed since Day 1 that every week is a new week and that whatever happened the week before doesn’t matter.
He’s not entirely wrong, but there is something to be said for momentum, which the Giants currently have thanks to their three-game winning streak and by virtue of the fact they’ve won four out of their last six games. There is such a thing as learning to win games, and although the level of completion the Giants have faced in the games they’ve won has been on a similar footing, a win is still a win.
The Seahawks? They know how to win and have an 8-3 record to prove it. But if we look at what they’ve done over their last six games, they’re 3-3, including a heartbreaking overtime loss suffered to the Cardinals in Week 7.
Unlike the Giants, who in their two losses over the last six games have lost those contests by an average of less than a point, the Seahawks have lost their three games among the same six-week sample period by an average of 6.6 points.
Again, though, trends don’t necessarily serve as strong indicators of the future, but if you’re looking for a reason to have hope, this is as good as any.
Why The Giants Will Lose
Although injuries shouldn’t be used as a reason to doubt a team’s chances of winning a game, in this case, I can’t help but shake this uneasy feeling that the injuries at quarterback and linebacker are going to create problems.
Quarterback Daniel Jones is listed as doubtful on the final injury report, but I think many people would be stunned if the Giants let him go out there one week after straining his hamstring, even if he gets through Saturday with no issues.
While Colt McCoy is a capable backup who has hung around in the league, he doesn’t have Jones’s arm strength or athleticism, two very underrated aspects of Jones’s game.
If the Seahawks run defense, ranked third in the league, having allowed 89.3 yards per game and 77.7 yards per game over their last three, shuts down the Giants running game this week and forces McCoy to beat them with his arm, can he pull it off?
I also mentioned the injuries at linebacker. The Giants will be without Kyler Fackrell, who joined Oshane Ximines and Lorenzo Carter on injured reserve this week. And inside, David Mayo, whose strength is stopping the run, is listed as questionable with a knee injury leaving one to wonder how they might deal with Seattle running back Chris Carson, who returned last week against the Eagles, a dual-threat.
Speaking of injuries, in addition to Carson, the Seahawks got cornerback Shaquill Griffin and center Ethan Pocic back last week against the Eagles, and all three are expected to play this weekend against the Giants. However, starting cornerback Tre Flowers and offensive tackle Brandon She'll are doubtful, while defensive end Carlos Dunlap, running back Carlos Hyde, and guard Damien Lewis are all listed as questionable.
What Will Happen
Although I’m looking forward to seeing how well the Giants hold up against an upgrade in competition—teams like Seattle are who the Giants would potentially face if they were to get into the postseason tournament—given the circumstances created by the injuries, I’m not expecting the Giants to come out on top in this one.
I think that while offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will try to keep much of the same principles for Colt McCoy as he would for Jones, if the Seahawks run defense manages to stifle the Giants ground game, they could be in for a long afternoon.
I hope to see the Giants stand toe-to-toe with the Seahawks, even if they should come up on the wrong end of the won-loss column this week. A loss to Seattle doesn’t necessarily dent the Giants' playoff hopes, nor does it take away the fact that there is still a lot of meaningful football left.
There is some solace that can be taken in knowing that the rest of the NFC East teams don’t exactly have cakewalks in their respective matchups this weekend either.
A win against the Seahawks would be amazing, but remember that this Giants team is still technically in Year 1 of the rebuild under Judge. Thus a competitively played game that ends up close—and that’s certainly possible given how the Giants defense has played of late—wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Seahawks 34, Giants 24
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