Key Matchups to Watch as Seattle Seahawks Host New York Giants in Week 5

Winning in the trenches on offense will be critical for the Seahawks, while the Giants will have to find a way to move the ball without their top receiver Malik Nabers.

Oct 30, 2022; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) catches a touchdown against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Looking to stay undefeated at home and rebound from a tough loss in Detroit, the Seattle Seahawks will welcome the slumping New York Giants to the Pacific Northwest for a Week 5 clash on Sunday in a crucial contest for both teams.

Sunken by an injury-marred defense missing as many as five starters on Monday night, the Seahawks allowed six touchdown drives to the Lions in a 42-29 defeat, but they should be far healthier for Sunday's latest matchup with the expected return of Leonard Williams, Jerome Baker, Julian Love, and potentially Boye Mafe. Meanwhile, the Giants won't be so lucky, as star rookie receiver Malik Nabers has not cleared concussion protocol and won't play for an offense that hasn't been great even with him amid a 1-3 start.

Which matchups will have the most influence on who snags a Week 5 victory in Seattle? Here are six key positional battles to watch at Lumen Field on Sunday afternoon:

--Seahawks receivers DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba versus Giants cornerbacks Deonte Banks, Cor'Dale Flott, and Adoree Jackson/Dru Phillips: Most weeks, the Seahawks have an advantage on the outside on offense with their dangerous trifecta of receivers, but facing the Giants secondary could be a mismatch on a whole other level. The beneficiaries of Geno Smith's fantastic start leading the NFL in passing yards through four games, Metcalf, Lockett, and Smith-Njigba each have at least 18 receptions and 199 receiving yards already through four games and have done that damage against quality cornerback groups such as the Broncos and Dolphins.

New York doesn't have a Patrick Surtain or Jalen Ramsey on the outside, as Banks has taken a big step backward in his sophomore season by already allowing four touchdown passes and more than 16 yards per catch as the team's perceived No. 1 cornerback. Opposite of him, Flott has surrendered an 81 percent catch rate and a touchdown, and both players have yielded a dreadful passer rating of 128 or worse so far. It also remains to be seen who will be playing in the slot, as Jackson and Phillips both will go into Sunday as questionable with calf injuries, further opening up the flood gates for Seattle's triplets to go off.

--Seahawks outside linebackers Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall versus Giants tackles Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor: The last two times these teams met, the Seahawks had a field day hunting Daniel Jones, sacking him a total of 15 times and coaxing a trio of turnovers. The ringleader of that attack, Nwosu has produced two of his four career multi-sack games in those contests along with two forced fumbles, eating former first-round pick Evan Neal alive off the edge. Mafe also has teed off on Jones, tallying a pair of sacks in those two games, and even Hall got in on the act with two quarterback hits in last season's matchup. Thus far, even with Nwosu sidelined, Mafe and Hall have combined for seven sacks, which bodes well for continued success on Sunday.

If there's a silver lining for the Giants, however, Thomas has played fairly well through the first four weeks, giving up only one sack and three quarterback hits. Eluemunor has been more hit and miss since replacing Neal in the starting lineup, as he hasn't given up any sacks but has allowed four quarterback hits, tied for the second-most among tackles in the NFL per PFF. Either way, New York has been better at protecting Jones this year so far than the past two years, and this will be a great litmus test for the tackles given Seattle's depth and talent off the edge with the home crowd stirring up a racket behind them.

--Seahawks center Connor Williams, guards Anthony Bradford, Christian Haynes, and Laken Tomlinson versus Giants defensive tackles Dexter Lawrence and Rakeem Nunez-Roches: Unlike last year, Seattle's interior line won't have to deal with Leonard Williams, who will be chasing after Jones for the first time since being traded by New York last October. Still, Connor Williams and the trio of guards will have to deal with the ever-disruptive Lawrence, who has gotten off to a fast start despite being frequently double teamed by opponents this year. Through four weeks, he already has amassed 18 pressures and three sacks, as the 342-pound behemoth has been a regular visit bursting into the backfield and making plays on quarterbacks, and he remains an immovable force against the run game as well.

Away from Lawrence, Nunez-Roches brings a different skill set as a more explosive, lighter 3-tech, and while he isn't the same pass rushing threat, he has three pressures and a sack this year in four starts for the Giants. There isn't much depth in the interior behind those two, but Lawrence will play the majority of the game and has excellent stamina for a player of his size. Combining his athleticism with raw power and physicality against a front line that has struggled to protect Smith for large stretches this year, he will be handful for the Seahawks to handle in the middle on his own accord and has the capability to blow up a game plan with his dominant all-around skill set.

--Seahawks linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker versus Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, running backs Eric Gray and Tyrone Tracy: After missing a pair of games with a hamstring injury, the Seahawks will plug Baker back into the starting lineup alongside Dodson for the first time since Week 2, so there's still some unknowns in regard to how they will play together in Macdonald's defense. Early returns before his injury were encouraging, however, as Baker complemented Dodson's hard-hitting, downhill style with his speed as a blitzer and coverage talent, helping hold the Broncos under 15 points in the season opener.

This could be a good matchup for the two to continue to work on chemistry with the Giants likely to be without starter Devin Singletary in the backfield and already struggling to run the ball with him. Entering Sunday, New York ranks 30th in rushing yards and dead last in yards per attempt, and coming off an ACL tear, Jones hasn't found his groove as a runner either with just 70 yards on 23 attempts. But given his past track record, Baker and Dodson will need to be alert for the quarterback to run the ball on designed plays as well as scrambles, while Gray and Tracy both offer receiving chops out of the backfield that could be utilized as a replacement for the run game.

--Seahawks tackles Charles Cross and Stone Forsythe versus Giants outside linebackers Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Azeez Ojulari: Since replacing George Fant early in the opener, Forsythe has done an admirable job holding the fort at right tackle, giving Seattle steady play at both tackle positions while Abraham Lucas continues to recover from knee surgery on the PUP list. But he has been far from perfect and though he didn't give up a sack on Monday against Detroit, he was charged with a stunning 12 pressures allowed. On the other side, Cross also was tagged for 10 pressures, easily his season high after a fast start.

The Giants haven't quite received the bang for their buck they hoped to get from Burns so far with just one sack, but the two-time Pro Bowler has a respectable 12.8 percent pass rush win rate, so it feels like he could be on the cusp of a breakout game for his new team. As for Thibodeaux, he's been even more effective with a 14.7 percent pass rush win rate, equaling his teammate with 11 total pressures, while Ojulari has been efficient with limited opportunities producing two sacks and five pressures. That trio has yet to fully wake up, but the Seahawks better hope that awakening doesn't happen on Sunday with their tackles coming off a game where they were fortunate not to get Smith hit more often.

--Seahawks cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, and Tre Brown versus Giants receivers Darius Slayton, Wan'Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt: On paper, this matchup doesn't look like a fair fight without Malik Nabers playing for New York, as the rookie has been the primary source of offense for the team with 35 receptions for 386 yards and three touchdowns. No other receiver on the team has more than 194 yards receiving or one touchdown. Last year, Witherspoon returned a pick six for a touchdown and Woolen locked down the other side with Slayton, Robinson, and Hyatt as the top three receivers, helping hold the Giants to three points.

New York will be looking to avoid a repeat performance with the same cast of characters, as Robinson has been a high-volume target for Jones from the slot who has 26 catches but has only averaged 7.5 yards per catch so far and the veteran Slayton still offers some vertical punch at this stage of his career. The wild card could be Hyatt, who has yet to make a catch this season but does possess game-breaking speed and the ability to take the top off of a defense as he did starring at Tennessee a few years ago. As long as the Seahawks can keep receivers in front of them in coverage, however, this should be an ideal situation for their cornerbacks to aggressively feast against a quarterback who has struggled against them in the past and will be missing his No. 1 target.