The New York Giants (1-2) host the Seattle Seahawks (2-1) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Monday Night Football in Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season.
Here are five storylines we are following.
Giants still not 100 percent healthy
Left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) did not practice on Friday leading us to believe that he could miss another week.
Running back Saquon Barkley practiced several times this week on a limited basis but it’s hard to believe the Giants will allow him to play so soon after being diagnosed with a high ankle sprain.
Three other players — tight end Daniel Bellinger (neck), outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari (hamstring) and defensive lineman D.J. Davidson (elbow) — were all limited this week as well.
In some better news, left guard Ben Bredeson (concussion) practiced in full on Friday.
Trying to avoid the dreaded 1-3 start
The Giants, with a loss on Monday night, will drop to 1-3 on the season.
“It’s definitely still early, this is not a must game I would say,” Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams said this week, via NJ Advance Media. “It’s not something that’s going to keep us out or keep us in the playoffs at the end of the year, but at the same time we try to look at the season like quarterly.”
Uh, think again. A 1-3 start — as per NFL Operations — is a death knell. Teams that begin the season at 1-3 have just a 21 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason.
If they win, and move to 2-2 on the season, their odds double to 42 percent.
Julian Love, Geno Smith return
Two former Giants now playing for Seattle — quarterback Geno Smith and safety Julian Love — are making their returns to MetLife Stadium.
In his one season with the New York Giants, QB Geno Smith made some history.
-First black quarterback to start for the Giants.
-First quarterback to start for both the Giants and the Jets.
-First Giant not named Manning to start a game at QB in 210 consecutive starts… pic.twitter.com/oPFgV1iGzT
— Tommy (@TommyG105) September 28, 2023
Love, a fourth-round pick by the Giants out of Notre Dame, was not re-signed after last season after leading the team in tackles.
“There are a bunch of lingering feelings with different people,” Love said, via the New York Daily News. “I had great relationships with the staff in the building, the kitchen staff, the people who worked around the building every day, that’s who I’m engaged with. Those people I had great relationships with. From a player standpoint, I have friends still on the team, a bunch of those guys were at my wedding, all of that, but there’s no ill feelings. I had that moment of closure when I signed, and I’m all Seahawks now.”
Giants are not favored to win -- again
The Giants opened the week as 1-point underdogs. The line as of Saturday morning was down to +1.5 after briefly slipping into favorable territory.
The over/under also jumped from 44.5 total points to 47.
The Giants are 0-3 against the spread this year after going 14-5 in 2022.
Some miscellany
The Giants have a 1-12 record with Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback in prime-time games.
In the first three weeks of the season, the Giants have been outscored 63-to-6 in the first half of games, the worst differential in the NFL.
The Seahawks have allowed opponents to convert on 57.4% of their third down attempts, 31st in the league.
