Seattle Seahawks Snap Counts: Reserves Thrust Into Action in Loss to New York Giants

With injuries continuing to pile up, the Seahawks once again had to lean on backups with Riq Woolen, Uchenna Nwosu, and Derick Hall going down on Sunday.

Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) rushes against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

After missing as many as five starters on defense in a Week 4 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Seattle Seahawks entered Sunday's home game against the New York Giants far healthier with Leonard Williams, Uchenna Nwosu, Jerome Baker, and Julian Love all returning to action.

Unfortunately, the NFL is a league built on attrition and injuries pile up as the season unfolds. In the case of the Seahawks, while a few starters came back, misfortunate struck again with cornerback Riq Woolen, edge rusher Derick Hall, and Nwosu all exiting a 29-20 loss to the Giants due to injuries, creating questions about their availability for Thursday's home game against the 49ers in just four days.

Speaking on his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald wasn't about to use injuries as an excuse for his team's disappointing performance on Sunday, stating the obvious that the schedule isn't going to change and others will have to step up to fill the void regardless of who is sidelined heading into a second straight short week.

"We're not looking for excuses on our operation or anything like that," Macdonald said. "We're attacking the process. That's the mentality. That's what we need to do today."

Defensively, the Seahawks struggled to slow down a Giants offense that went into Sunday's game ranked in the bottom third of the league in points scored, passing yards, and rushing yards, allowing Daniel Jones to throw for nearly 250 yards and two touchdowns while surrendering 175 yards on the ground. It was an embarrassing letdown for Macdonald's unit, which had given up just 14.3 points per game in the first three weeks before injuries started to pile up.

Trying to manage several players suiting up at below 100 percent in the trenches, Seattle continued to rotate in reserves such as Myles Adams, Mike Morris, and Trevis Gipson, who each played at least 11 defensive snaps in the defeat but contributed zero tackles and zero pressures. They also tried to reduce the workload for veterans such as Johnathan Hankins, who played 57 percent of the snaps this week after logging a 77 percent share against the Lions on Monday Night Football out of necessity.

In the secondary, with Woolen tweaking his ankle early in the second half, rookie Nehemiah Pritchett was thrown into the fire for his first NFL regular season snaps opposite of Tre Brown, playing a total of 12 defensive snaps. The Giants attempted to attack the fifth-round pick once he entered the lineup, but Jones overthrew an open Darius Slayton with him trailing in coverage and he registered a key third down pass breakup to force a punt late in regulation.

Looking at snap counts from the Seahawks gut-wrenching loss to the Giants, what else jumped out? Week 5 observations linked to statistics courtesy of PFF and film study:

• Despite playing 39 offensive snaps - or 67 percent of Seattle's plays - Ken Walker III received only five carries for 19 yards, his lowest carry total since rushing only four times against the Rams in a loss at SoFi Stadium last season. He did catch a career-high seven passes for 57 yards, making significant contributions for Seattle's passing game. Playing just 21 snaps, Zach Charbonnet received a grand total of two carries for 11 yards and had three catches for 19 yards as both backs ultimately had the ball in their hands more through the passing game than run game.

• For the third time in his career, and first time since 2020, DK Metcalf never left the field when the Seahawks were on offense, playing all 58 snaps with four catches for 55 yards and a critical fumble early in the third quarter. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett were in their typical usage threshold with 88 percent and 84 percent snap shares respectively. Rarely rotating their big three out of action, Laviska Shenault and Jake Bobo combined to play seven offensive snaps, with Bobo making the lone catch for two yards.

• Switching things up from Week 4 where coordinator Ryan Grubb utilized more 12 personnel groupings, the Seahawks didn't use multi-tight end sets near as frequently against the Giants. While Noah Fant played close to 60 percent of the team's offensive snaps, rookie AJ Barner saw his snap percentage dip from 39 percent against the Lions to 26 percent on Sunday, while veteran Pharaoh Brown only saw the field for eight snaps at a 14 percent rate.

• Continuing to deploy a platoon at right guard, neither Anthony Bradford nor Christian Haynes did anything to help their standing winning the starting job in a competition that shows no signs of reaching a conclusion anytime soon. Both players allowed a sack on Geno Smith, contributing to the poor pass protection throughout the game, with Bradford receiving the lion's share of reps at a 69 percent rate.

• Playing in his first game in nearly a calendar year due to multiple injuries, Nwosu's much-anticipated return barely lasted longer than a blink of an eye. Suffering a thigh injury early in the second half, he didn't return after playing just 20 defensive snaps generating three tackles in that limited action. Picking up the slack, Dre'Mont Jones rarely left the field after halftime while logging a season-high 83 percent snap rate, contributing four tackles and one pressure in a quiet performance.

• Coming back from a hamstring injury, the Seahawks didn't ease Jerome Baker back into the mix as he played every single one of the team's 72 defensive snaps alongside Dodson, enjoying a solid outing with 12 combined tackles and a forced fumble that Rayshawn Jenkins returned 102 yards for a touchdown. With Baker's return, rookie Tyrice Knight not only didn't play any defensive snaps, but he didn't play on special teams either, not logging a single play in Sunday's contest.

• Three-safety looks weren't a big part of the equation for Seattle on Sunday with Jenkins and Love both playing at least 71 of 72 defensive snaps and K'Von Wallace and Coby Bryant playing eight combined defensive snaps. Instead, Macdonald and his staff leaned more on traditional nickel packages with Tre Brown playing 83 percent of the snaps and the combination of Woolen and Pritchett playing north of 80 percent of their defensive plays while Devon Witherspoon primarily played in the slot.