The Giants improved to 2-3 on the season with a gutsy 29-20 victory on the road against the Seahawks.

It was a strong overall performance by the Giants as all three phases contributed to the effort.

"Good to come out here on the road, get a win," coach Brian Daboll said after the game. "A lot of the resiliency obviously the way it started out, 100-yard return after we drove the ball down on them. Thought we played good, efficient football. Thought the quarterback played good again. That starts it. The run game was good. Pass game was efficient. Hit a couple big plays. And then defensively and special teams, you know, grinding back and forth. They got a lot of talent on their football team. Good offensive football team. They been doing a good job defensively taking away passes. But proud of the guys to come out here, play a good game, and get a win on the road."

The Giants will be back at home in Week 6 as they welcome the Cincinnati Bengals (1-4) to MetLife Stadium for a showdown on Sunday Night Football.

Here are five things we learned in the Week 5 victory:

Showing resiliency

As Daboll mentioned in the quote above, the Giants once again showed their resiliency to bounce back from a rough start and win the game. After forcing a Seahawks punt on their first possession, the Giants' offense put together their longest drive of the season as they drove 79 yards on 16 plays and took up over 10 minutes of game clock. The drive ended with a fourth-and-goal from Seattle's one-yard line, where running back Eric Gray fumbled the ball as he attempted to cross the goal line. The Seahawks picked it up and returned the fumble 102 yards the other way for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The Giants were able to quickly brush the play off, though. After ensuing three-and-outs by both teams, the offense drove 81 yards in under five minutes to score their first touchdown of the day. The two teams went into the locker room at halftime tied 10-10, but the Giants picked things up in the second half and were able to outscore the Seahawks 19-10 in the final two quarters to pick up the 29-20 win.

"Proud of our team, our coaches," Daboll said. "They put a lot of hard work to come out here on the road. Started out similar, not the same, but similar to the Cleveland week when we bounced back. So, proud of the guys. Competed well. Got the result we wanted. Really the process is what I'm proud of, how they stayed true to it, how they practiced, how they prepared, meetings, all those type of things. Good win."

The Giants finished the game with more total yards (420) and first downs (24) than the Seahawks while dominating the time of possession (37:22 to 22:38). Daboll's squad also played a disciplined game as there were just two accepted penalties for 20 yards on the day.

Jones, Slayton step up in passing game

The offense entered Sunday's matchup without their top playmaker in wide receiver Malik Nabers. The rookie wideout had the highest target share in the NFL after the first four games of the season, in addition to being among the league leaders in just about every receiving category. Despite the 21-year-old's absence due to a concussion suffered in Week 4, the Giants' passing game did not miss a beat.

Quarterback Daniel Jones once again got off to a strong start, completing 12 of his first 13 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. He finished the game 23 of 34 (67.6 percent) for 257 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, which earned him a passer rating of 109.6. He also added 38 yards on 11 rushing attempts while forcing six missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. One of the most important pieces to Jones' success against the Seahawks was the deep ball. Jones connected on both of his deep passes (20+ air yards) for 71 yards and a touchdown. This marked the first time he completed multiple deep passes in a game since Week 2 of last season. Jones now has three games with multiple touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 100+ passer rating this season.

"It's always been fun to coach him because he's a true pro," Daboll said about Jones. "Again, always want the results, but have a lot of confidence in him, how he's playing, how he's preparing. You know, feel comfortable putting the ball in his hands. That's what we did early in the game. We went after them a little bit throwing the ball. So got a lot of confidence in him."

"You know, we've said since training camp how much we like our skill guys and how deep we think those positions are," Jones added. "You saw a lot of guys step up today and make a lot of plays. When we say that we mean it. We have a lot of confidence in those guys. You know, they stepped up and played very well."

With Nabers out, the veteran of the wide receiver room stepped up in a big way. With an increased target share, Darius Slayton had his best game of the season. The sixth-year wideout was targeted a game-high 11 times and caught eight of those passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. In fact, Slayton was on the receiving end of both of Jones' deep completions, as the two passes came within a few plays of each other and resulted in the Giants' early third quarter touchdown. His 122 receiving yards were the third-highest total of his career and the most he's had since the 2020 season. It was also his sixth 100-yard receiving game of his career.

"You have to have a short memory," Slayton said about the team's rough start. "Obviously we came out on the first drive, we drive it down there, fumble and give up a touchdown. It went from being about as good as you can start to as bad as it can go. That's just who we're trying to become as a team. Our identity is being resilient and being able to overcome."

Pass rush erupts

The Giants were faced with a tough task going up against the Seahawks offense. In their Week 4 road loss to the Detroit Lions, the Seahawks gained a whopping 516 yards, 38 first downs, and had a 50 percent conversion rate on third and fourth downs, while their running backs averaged nearly 7.0 yards per carry. Well, all of that changed against the Giants defense in Week 5.

Seattle finished the day with 333 total yards of offense while totaling 17 first downs. The Giants' defense was able to hold the Seahawks to just three conversions on 11 third down attempts, while stopping them on both of their fourth down attempts. The defense was also able to force the Seahawks to abandon the run game completely as Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet combined for just seven carries and 30 yards, although they did contribute in the passing game. The Seahawks entered halftime with just two total rushing yards on two carries, the fewest rushing yards by a Giants' opponent in the first half since 2005.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the defense's performance in Seattle was the pass rush. The Giants exploded for seven sacks of Geno Smith, with three coming from defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. Fellow defensive lineman D.J. Davidson registered the first two full sacks of his NFL career, outside linebacker Brian Burns added one sack and Kayvon Thibodeaux and Rakeem Nunez-Roches split the seventh sack. The seven-sack performance brings the Giants up to a league-high 22 sacks on the season, two more than any other team. Their 22 sacks are the second-most through five games in Giants history (1985).

Lawrence's three-sack game brings him up to six sacks on the season. This has him tied for the second-most sacks in the NFL and only a half-sack behind Detroit's Aidan Hutchinson for the most in the NFL. According to Next Gen Stats, Lawrence finished with three sacks and five quarterback pressures despite facing a double team on 22 of his rushes (55 percent). The trio of Lawrence, Burns and Thibodeaux each contributed at least a half-sack in the same game for the second time this season (Week 3 at Cleveland), and combined to record 18 total quarterback pressures, according to NGS.

"I think we executed the plan well, and the defensive backs were covering well," Lawrence said after the win. "They gave us time to get there. Geno was looking for a second and third read and that gave us time."

Lawrence added, "I think we stood up when we had to and made plays when we had to. That's winning football."

Cornerback Deonte Banks also deserves a lot of credit for his standout performance against DK Metcalf. Banks lined up opposite Metcalf on 35 of the receiver's 47 routes and limited him to just two catches on four targets for 24 yards. The second-year corner also came up with a big play when he punched the ball out of Metcalf's hands, which Tyler Nubin recovered, right outside the red zone to stop Seattle's first drive of the second half. Banks finished the game with six tackles (two solo) and a career-high three passes defensed, while Pro Football Focus had him down for a 49.6 passer rating when targeted.

Strong day from rookie class

On a day in which the Giants were missing their star rookie wide receiver, the rest of the team's rookie class stepped up and had the young group's best overall game of the season. Let's start on offense, where Devin Singletary's absence led to an expanded workload for running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. for the first time in his young career. The 24-year-old back took this opportunity and ran with it for a breakout performance.

After totaling 12 rush attempts for 29 yards across his first four games as a reserve, Tracy led the Giants' rushing attack with 18 carries for 129 yards against the Seahawks. The rookie finished with four runs of 10+ yards and an average of 7.2 yards per carry.

"Got a lot of yards," Daboll said about the rookie back. "He was productive. He was tough. I mean, I don't know if he needs to eat more on the sideline, whatever it is. Get him the ball. You know, he ran hard. He saw the holes. He pressed the hole. Something we been working hard on him with is pressing the hole and setting up your blocks. Made some extra yards with the ball in his hand."

"I would say the butterflies is something that is always going to happen on game day," Tracy added. "I prepare the right way; I have people around me that help me prepare, help me throughout the week, help me with film study, knowing the backers, knowing the D-line. For me personally, when you get out there after that first snap, the butterflies need to go away. You have to stay focused, understand the game plan, and rely on your fundamentals and technique."

Sunday's game also saw rookie tight end Theo Johnson have his best game of the season. Johnson was targeted five times and caught all five passes for 48 yards. According to Next Gen Stats, the young tight end created an average of 4.0 yards of separation on his five targets, the highest of any Giants' pass-catching on Sunday, while his 28 yards after the catch ranked second on the team.

Moving over to the defense, rookie safety Tyler Nubin led the Giants in tackles for the second consecutive week. His nine total tackles and seven solo were both three more than any other player on the team. Nubin also added a tackle for loss along with the first fumble recovery of his NFL career. The young safety also allowed just two receptions for 28 yards in coverage while adding a team-high five tackles in the run game (no other player had more than two), according to NGS. Meanwhile, rookie cornerback Dru Phillips returned to the field after missing last week's game against the Cowboys and finished with four tackles (one solo). The rookie slot corner allowed only one reception for 9 yards on three targets, earning a 42.4 passer rating when targeted, according to Pro Football Focus.

"It was good to see the rookies," Daboll said. "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."

Inside the big special teams play

With the Seahawks lining up for a game-tying field goal in the final minute of the game, the Giants' special teams unit came up with their biggest play of the season. Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial schemed up a great field goal block, which the unit executed to perfection with Isaiah Simmons leaping over the line of scrimmage and coming up with the game-winning field goal block. Bryce Ford-Wheaton returned the blocked kick for a touchdown to extend the lead to 29-20 and essentially clinch the victory for the Giants.

"I think it was Tuesday Ghobi brought that play up to me," Daboll told the media after the game. "You know, he talked about who he thought would be a good candidate to do the jump. Isaiah came to mind. He executed perfectly."

After being traded to the Giants right before the start of the 2023 campaign, Simmons re-signed with the team this past offseason. Leading up to Sunday's game, the 26-year-old hadn't had the biggest impact this year with just seven tackles (six solo) on 60 total defensive snaps across Weeks 2-4 (he didn't play in the season opener). However, the versatile defender stayed ready and made a tremendous play when his number was called, which Daboll said was a testament to Simmons' mindset and work ethic.

"I gave him a game ball," the head coach said about Simmons. "You know, look, he's a high first round pick. He's been on a couple different teams. There are certain roles that he plays, and not everybody is a starter for you. I mean, the people that play behind them or the roles, specific roles we have, they have to execute their job at a high level, whatever that role is. That's what good teammates do.

"You know, certainly everybody wants the ball on offense or to play 100% of the time. This is a team game, so and you can only put 11 out there. When your number is called, we're expecting to you make the play. I'm proud of the young man for that. He made one hell of a play at the end of the game to seal it. I give Ghobi a lot of credit. First-year coordinator. Schemed it up, brought it up. You know, was good team win."

"Everybody on the field does their job and they put me in a position to succeed," Ford-Wheaton added about returning the blocked kick for a score. "Shout out to coach Michael Ghobrial, Isaiah Simmons and all my teammates over on special teams. We're all playing the roles to the best of our ability to get the win."