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Players to Watch: Giants travel to Seattle in Week 5

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The Giants (1-3) will head to Seattle this weekend looking for their second win of the season when they take on the Seahawks (3-1) at Lumen Field.

This is the third consecutive season the two teams will meet as the Giants attempt to snap a two-game losing streak against the NFC West opponent.

The Giants are coming off a mini-bye after they fell to the Dallas Cowboys, 20-15, last Thursday at MetLife Stadium. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have a short week after they went to Detroit and lost to the Lions, 42-29, on Monday.

Here are five players to watch in the Week 5 matchup.

QB Daniel Jones

In last week's loss to the Cowboys, Jones completed 72.5 percent of his passes for 281 yards. While he did register an interception, it came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the game. The sixth-year quarterback's performance came one week after he completed 70.6 percent of his passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Browns. It marked the second consecutive game in which he threw for multiple touchdowns and no interceptions, the first time he did this in back-to-back games in his NFL career.

"I thought for the most part I played with good rhythm and made good decisions, where to go with the ball," Jones said about his performance against the Cowboys. "I thought guys did a good job getting open. I thought we did a really good job protecting against a good pass rush. I think it was just some missed opportunities that you'd like to have back. But overall, I felt like execution was good, for the most part. We just go to convert those opportunities."

Heading into Week 5, the Seahawks have generated the ninth-highest pressure rate in the NFL at 37.3 percent, according to Next Gen Stats. Jones has been pressured on 35.0 percent of his dropbacks this season, and while he has completed 50 percent of his passes when being pressured, he's thrown for 213 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Seahawks' pass defense has gotten off to a strong start, but at least some of that has to do with who they have played thus far. In the first three weeks, they faced Denver (Bo Nix's NFL debut), New England (Jacoby Brissett) and Miami (Skylar Thompson and Tim Boyle). In those three matchups, the Seahawks gave up an average of 132.3 passing yards per game. In Monday's loss to the Lions, the Seahawks allowed Jared Goff to complete all 18 of his pass attempts for 292 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown added a seven-yard touchdown pass to Goff, as well.

"I thought the Seahawks defense played pretty well," Jones said about Seattle's performance on Monday. "I think Goff really made some plays out of nothing and did a good job finding guys. They did a good job on a couple of explosives catch and runs and breaking tackles. So, when you're watching on TV, you can't see everything that's going on. It's always interesting to look at it the next day and watch it on film and then you can see some more of the game. But yeah, the Lions played well. I thought the Seahawks have a good defense."

View photos of the Giants on the practice fields ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

WR Wan'Dale Robinson

Wan'Dale Robinson has played a big role in the Giants' passing attack this year. The third-year wideout ranks second on the team with 26 receptions for 194 yards and one touchdown, and has six or more receptions in three out of four games. Not only that, but he has also topped 50 total yards from scrimmage in three out of four games, while scoring a touchdown in the one game he did not. Robinson is coming off the highest-volume game of his NFL career as he caught a career-high 11 passes against the Cowboys, which he took for 71 yards.

With Malik Nabers' status in doubt due to the concussion suffered against Dallas, Robinson could be in for yet another high-volume day, and rightfully so. The 5-foot-8 receiver has proven to be one of the most elusive wideouts in the league this season. Heading into Week 5, Robinson leads all wide receivers across the NFL with nine missed tackles forced, one more than Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase and Kansas City's Rashee Rice, according to PFF. It should be noted that Robinson has been listed on the injury report as a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday due to a heel injury.

Robinson has lined up in the slot on 80 percent of his snaps this season. In their Monday Night Football loss last week, the Seahawks gave up six receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown to Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, although he lined up in the slot on just 54.5 percent of his snaps. On the season, Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon has lined up in the slot more than any other player on the team and has allowed 13 receptions for 121 yards on 18 targets for a 90.3 passer rating when targeted. 100 of those 121 yards allowed have come after the catch, according to PFF.

OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux

Kayvon Thibodeaux has started to heat up over the last few games. After picking up his first half-sack of the season against the Browns in Week 3, the third-year outside linebacker got his first full sack of the season against the Cowboys the following week. According to Pro Football Focus, Thibodeaux has multiple pressures in each of the last three games with 10 total during that span, including five against Dallas. Heading into this week's game, he ranks second on the team with 11 total pressures on the season, while his six quarterback hits, with at least one in every game, match Dexter Lawrence for the team-lead.

"We've been productive for the most part trying to affect the quarterback," defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said Thursday when asked about the team's front four. "We've had some sacks from some other places. I think that's a product of those four as well. Being able to understand how guys are blocking us, just continuing to find ways to create one-on-one for those guys, give them some opportunities. Teams are doing a good job getting the ball out, too.

"I mean it takes all 11 to affect the quarterback. It's not just the front four, so we've got to understand that as a defense as well, with just what we're asking these guys to do coverage-wise, what we're playing, to be able to buy a little bit more time potentially for those guys to get home. But I'm pleased with where they're at. Again, I don't think the production ultimately shows the effectiveness of them up to this point. I'm sure they'd all love to have multiple sacks. Hopefully they come, but at the same time, I think they're doing a good job for us."

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has faced a 33.1 percent pressure rate this season, which comes in at the 14th-highest in the NFL, and has led to 11 sacks on the year. When facing pressure, Smith has completed 52.2 percent of his passes for 297 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for a 61.6 passer rating. This is compared to a 100.8 passer rating when not pressured. Seahawks left tackle Charles Cross has surrendered 13 total pressures this season, according to PFF, while right tackle Stone Forsythe has given up 20 pressures.

ILB Micah McFadden

Micah McFadden put together a solid 2023 campaign in his first season as a full-time starter, as his consistent play led to 101 total tackles. Through the first month of the season, the third-year linebacker has carried that over to 2024. McFadden missed the season opener, and yet heads into Week 5 as the team's leading tackler with 27 total tackles and 18 solo tackles.

The 24-year-old linebacker has performed well as a pass rusher. After picking up three sacks across his first two seasons, McFadden already has 1.5 sacks in just three games this year. He generated three pressures against both the Commanders and Browns, which has led to his 37.5 quarterback pressure rate being the highest on the team among players with at least 10 rushes. McFadden has also performed well against the run, as his five run stuffs leads the team. According to PFF, the only linebacker that has performed better than McFadden against the run this season has been Washington's Bobby Wagner.

McFadden and the rest of the Giants' defense will have their hands full this weekend as they attempt to slow down the two-headed rushing attack of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. In his first game back from an abdomen injury that sidelined him for two weeks, Walker carried the ball 12 times against the Lions' top-ranked run defense and was able to gain 80 yards (6.7 avg.) and score three touchdowns while also catching four passes for 36 yards. Meanwhile, Charbonnet has totaled 271 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns on the year, including five receptions for 39 yards in Monday's game against Detroit.

S Tyler Nubin

The 23-year-old rookie has registered 21 total tackles on the season, which is tied with Jason Pinnock for the fourth-most on the team. In last week's game against the Cowboys, Nubin was tied with McFadden for the team-lead in tackles with eight, while he also forced the first fumble of his NFL career.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Nubin's game has been his reliability. The rookie safety has been on the field for every defensive snap thus far, joining linebacker Bobby Okereke as the only two players to do so. Additionally, Nubin has missed just one tackle this season, according to PFF, and has allowed only four receptions for 38 yards on 150 coverage snaps. Nubin's strong start led to him being named to Dane Brugler's early All-Rookie Team.

"He's been good for us," Bowen said about the rookie safety. "I think the communication shows up, all the things that we kind of expected out of him, being a leader on the field, taking control, communicating with guys, helping the guy next to him. Again, I would go back to just some of the situational awareness in the league. These young guys, they're kind of learning by fire right now with some of that stuff, but I've been pleased with how he's played, showing up, tackling.

"He's played physical for us. Really just continue to learn from mistakes with all those guys, and when you play with young guys, it's going to happen at times. So just continuing to build, make new mistakes, learn from it, keep growing, keep understanding what the game is at this level."

Nubin should play a big role in the run defense, as his 15 run tackles on the season are tied for the second-most on the team. But the former Minnesota Golden Gopher will also match up against Seattle's tight ends in coverage. Seahawks tight end Noah Fant is fifth on the team with 11 receptions for 111 yards, while rookie tight end AJ Barner just caught his first NFL touchdown in Monday's loss to the Lions.

View rare photos of the all-time history between the New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks.

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