The Giants.com crew reacts to the team's 29-20 road victory over the Seattle Seahawks:
John Schmeelk: I think the Giants may have just solved their problems up front. Given the allocation of resources this offseason, it was clear that improving the trenches was their main goal. Through five games, at least so far, it seems to have worked.
On defense, the Giants lead the league in sacks with 22. They are eighth in pressure rate at 37.9 percent, according to Pro Football Focus. Dexter Lawrence already has six sacks, more than he had all of last season. They are creating that kind of pressure while blitzing on only 31 percent of their defensive snaps, the 18th-highest rate in the league. The Giants pressured Geno Smith at a 35 percent rate this week and finished with seven sacks.
The fact the defense is not playing from multiple scores behind in every game is helping the pass rush immensely. The offense has gotten leads, or at the very least, kept games close because of the play of their offensive line. The Giants are ninth-best in the NFL in sack rate (5.7 percent) allowed this year, according to PFF. The Giants have allowed 12 sacks this year. Only eight teams that have played five games have allowed fewer.
The Giants rank 21st in pressure rate (36.5 percent) allowed this year, according to PFF. The Giants are right in the middle third of the league. The pass protection has been good all year but was even better this week, allowing pressure on just 25 percent of their pass snaps. The run game also came together with Tyrone Tracey Jr. rushing for more than 100 yards and seven yards per carry.
Winning football starts up front, and the Giants are starting to display that more consistently.
Dan Salomone: The Giants didn't just play without their leading receiver; they played without the star rookie who led the NFL in catches and ranked second in receiving yards through the first quarter of the season. The Giants didn't just play without their leading rusher either; they played without their veteran running back who accounted for 65 percent of their rushing output.
So, when Malik Nabers (concussion) and Devin Singletary (groin) were ruled out for Week 5, the natural question was: Where will their offense come from?
Fast-forwarding to late Sunday afternoon at the home of the 12th Man, the Giants had a player with a 100+ passer rating (Daniel Jones), a player with 100+ rush yards (rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr.), and a player with 100+ receiving yards (Darius Slayton) in the same game for the first time since Week 16 of the 2014 season (Eli Manning, Andre Williams, and Odell Beckham Jr.).
That's resiliency.
And let's not forget how both of their wins started. In Cleveland, the Giants fumbled the opening kickoff and the Browns scored a touchdown on the very next play. In Seattle, Eric Gray was about to score on the Giants' opening possession until the Seahawks returned a fumble 102 yards for a touchdown.
"A lot of the resiliency obviously the way it started out," coach Brian Daboll said.
"I think guys did a good job kind of staying resilient and understanding a lot of the football left to play," quarterback Daniel Jones said, "and that's what we did."
"That's just who we're trying to become as a team," Slayton said. "Our identity is being resilient and being able to overcome."
Matt Citak: Much of the attention on the Giants' rookie class this season has centered around Malik Nabers, and deservedly so. The wide receiver found himself among the league leaders in just about every receiving category through four games before he was sidelined for Sunday's game due to a concussion. With the first-round pick unable to take the field, his classmate made sure to pick up the slack in his absence.
Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. saw extended action for the first time in his young career with veteran Devin Singletary also out with a groin injury, and the 24-year-old took full advantage of the opportunity. Tracy carried the ball 18 times for 129 yards, good for an average of 7.2 yards per carry, and had four runs of 10+ yards. This came after he gained just 29 yards on 12 carries through the first four games of the season. Tight end Theo Johnson also enjoyed his best game in the NFL as he caught all five of his targets for 48 yards. He created an average of 4.0 yards of separation on those five targets, the highest average on the team Sunday, while his 28 yards after the catch ranked second.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants once again got solid performances from their second- and third-round picks. Safety Tyler Nubin was on the field for 97 percent of the team's defensive snaps in Seattle, with the two snaps he wasn't on the field representing the first two snaps he's missed all season. For the second consecutive week, Nubin led the team in tackles. He finished with nine total tackles and six solo, both of which were three more than any other player, while adding a tackle for loss and his first career fumble recovery. His team-high five tackles in the run game were three more than any other player, according to Next Gen Stats. Then there's cornerback Dru Phillips, who made his return to the field after missing most of Week 3 and all of Week 4 with a calf injury. The rookie slot corner finished with four tackles (one solo), and according to Pro Football Focus, surrendered just one reception for nine yards on three targets. This earned him a passer rating when targeted of 42.2.
"It was good to see the rookies," coach Brian Daboll said after the game. "They're developing still. This is October now, so you're trying to figure out September some of the things you need to work on. And one game really has nothing to do with the next. We'll do it all over again against a very challenging opponent, high powered team coming up here in a week."
