Three keys for the Giants to come away with a "W" on Sunday:
A look at the playmakers of the Giants' upcoming opponent
LDE Michael BennettThe two-time Pro Bowler leads the Seahawks with four sacks in five games this year.
WR Doug BaldwinComing off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Baldwin leads the team with 27 receptions for 284 yards.
TE Jimmy GrahamGraham is fourth among active tight ends with 60 touchdown catches.
SS Kam ChancellorA four-time Pro Bowler, Chancellor is the captain of the Seahawks' vaunted secondary, known as the Legion of Boom.
PR/KR Tyler LockettThe All-Pro leads the NFL with 2,282 combined return yards since he was drafted in 2015.
LCB Richard ShermanSince 2011, Sherman leads the NFL in both interceptions (30) and passes defensed (94)
FS Earl ThomasThe five-time Pro Bowler is second among NFL safeties with 24 interceptions since 2010.
MLB Bobby WagnerThe All-Pro leads the Seahawks with 41 tackles in addition to recording an interception and fumble recovery this season.
QB Russell WilsonSince entering the league in 2012, Wilson is 67-29-1 as a starter, including two Super Bowl appearances and one title.
The buzzword around the Giants this week has been "stack."
Stack a strong rushing performance on top of another. Stack another interception. Another sack. Another block. Another tackle.
Another win.
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After five games with no payoff, the Giants went into Denver last week and pulled out a primetime win that not many people had given them a chance to do. They will look to keep any hope for the season alive and build momentum heading into the bye with the 3-2 Seattle Seahawks coming to town this week.
Here are three keys for the Giants:
POUND THE BALL
Down four wide receivers, offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, who took over playcalling duties, made no bones about what he wanted to do last week. The Giants rushed 32 times for 148 yards while just two of Eli Manning's 11 completions went to wide receivers. They did so with heavier personnel on the field, including right guard D.J. Fluker, who delivered a key block that sprung Orleans Darwka's 47-yard run, the Giants' longest since 2014.
The team could stick to a similar formula against another championship-caliber defense led by another vaunted secondary. Seattle is typically near the top in every defensive metric, but it is only 26th in the NFL in allowing 127.2 rushing yards per game. Don't let the Legion of Boom get booming, just like how the No Fly Zone never took off last week at Mile High.
CONTAIN WILSON, SEATTLE RUN GAME
Losers of their last three games against the Seahawks, the Giants held a halftime lead in their most recent matchup in 2014 against the eventual NFC representative in Super Bowl XLIX. But, as Giants fans may remember, quarterback Russell Wilson gashed them down the stretch with his legs, finishing with 107 rushing yards and a backbreaking touchdown that put the game completely out of reach at CenturyLink Field. With Marshawn Lynch adding 140 yards and four scores, the Giants gave up 350 total yards on the ground, the second-highest total allowed by the franchise since 1950.
That's ancient history, though. The key to the Giants' first victory last week was shutting down the run, something they prided themselves on last year but had been unable to do in their first five outings.
"They got a dynamic offense," safety Landon Collin said of the Seahawks. "They got a lot of guys that can go up and get the ball and they got a crazy quarterback that is definitely going to keep their play alive. We just have to keep him contained. It starts with him, so if he's out of the pocket, it can be a long series. So we try to contain him, make him stay in the pocket and throw it. He kind of gets a little fidgety in that pocket, so you keep him within that, we'll be alright."
TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS
Turnovers tend to come in bunches for defenses, and it was this time last year that the Giants came alive in that department. Collins got the ball rolling with his first interception of the 2017 campaign in Week 6 (his first was in Week 7 last season) and joked with cornerback Janoris Jenkins that he would have returned his for a touchdown if he didn't have a sore ankle. The safety was just jealous after Jenkins notched his sixth career pick-six.
It was part of a plus-three performance in turnover differential as the Giants never gave it up themselves for the second time this season. That moved the Giants to even for the season while the Seahawks are plus-four, tied with the Eagles for sixth in the league. Protect the ball and get to the bye week with some positive momentum.
