NFL Predictions Week 5: Why New York Giants Should Be Wary Of Seattle Seahawks

After starting off the year with a loss against the Washington Redskins, the New York Giants have surged back and won their past three games en route to a 3-1 record when they will face the Seattle Seahawks at 1 p.m. ET at Metlife Stadium.

The Giants have utilized their impressive backfield of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs to pound at defenses while also diverting attention from Eli Manning.

He who completed 27-of-40 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns in a comeback win against the Arizona Cardinals.

The series has not really been a competition as of late as the Giants have beaten the Seahawks by a combined 72 points in their past two meetings with one another. 

The Giants may be one of the favorites in the NFC East with the struggling Eagles.

The Seahawks are looking to finally find an identity for themselves as they continue the second year in the Pete Carroll era in Seattle.

Coming off of a tough loss to the Atlanta Falcons, which sent their record to an abysmal 1-3, the Seahawks may have started to hit their stride. They may surprise many people in this game as they make the trek east to face the Giants.

Many believe this to be a fairly easily winnable game of the Giants.

Here are a few reasons why the Giants should be wary of their confidence as they play host to the Seattle Seahawks in a Week 5 NFC East-West clash. 

Seattle Gaining Confidence

When a team starts off the season 1-3 and lose their previous game, you wouldn't believe that they would have much confidence. 

That is exactly the opposite of what is happening with the Seattle Seahawks.

Though they do have a 1-3 record, Seattle seems to be "gelling" more as a team and looks as though they are starting to put pieces together in order to make a run at the NFC West division title for a second straight year in a row.

Building their confidence was a very close loss to an Atlanta Falcon team that is pretty good themselves.

Tavaris Jackson will have five weeks under his belt, and with Sidney Rice back and playing like a Pro Bowler, the Seattle offense should be able to continue to put up points like they did last week against the Falcons.

During the first few weeks of the season, you could tell that Seattle was not a confident team as they barely moved the ball up and down the field and were generally out-of-sync.

However, in the second half of their game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Seahawks were able to build some confidence as they put up some pretty impressive numbers against a fairly decent Atlanta Falcons defense.

Adding to Seattle's confidence should be Tavaris Jackson coming off of his best passing game EVER, where he threw for 319 years and two scores, although he did throw two interceptions.

With a building confidence, look for the Seahawks to open up their passing attack and have more "swagger" as they head to a difficult road test. 

New York Giants' Run Defense

When you think of the Seattle Seahawks running-game, it's hard to think of anything more depressing in terms of how great they used to be with Shaun Alexander in the backfield and a solid offensive-line.

However, as was seen in the game against the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs last year, a team should never overlook the Seattle Seahawks as a pass-only offense, especially the New York Giants with their own problems on the defensive-line. 

Thus far this year, the Giants have allowed 116.5 yards per game, including allowing LeSean McCoy to run all over them for 128 yards.

Though Seattle has only rushed for 67.5 yards per game, the Giants must not underestimate Seattle's running-game.

Marshawn Lynch and the Seattle Seahawks are due for a breakout game, and they think they may be able to do this against a weaker Giants run defense.  

Seahawks Offensive Line Improving

After allowing 14 sacks in their first three games of the season, you would think that the Seattle Seahawks offensive line was the worst in the nation and could not improve their play.

However, in their game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4, the Seahawks did not allow one sack.

The Seahawks were also able to open up some holes for Marshawn Lynch and the Seattle running-game to sneak through.

After losing their "big" offensive line free-agent acquisition Robert Gallery to a groin injury for four to six weeks, many thought that Seattle's rookies would not be able to shore up their play.

At first, it looked as though everybody was right.

However, with draft picks James Carpenter and Russell Okung solidifying their play as well as a general cohesion developing around the offensive-line, the Seahawks are starting to build and improve upon every week.

This extremely young line will have a tough test on the road, but should be able to handle a Giants' run-defense that is not all that stellar.

Look for Okung and Carpenter to play a very good game and open up a lot of holes for the Seahawks' running game to get going. 

Sidney Rice

After being sidelined the first two weeks with injury, the Seahawks' biggest free-agent acquisition is finally starting to prove himself worthy of his big contract.

Rice may be Larry Fitzgerald 2.0 and is almost guaranteed to catch the ball if you throw it his way.

Last week against the Falcons, Rice was able to burn the Atlanta Falcons in a losing effort.

He started to draw a lot of attention to himself, allowing the Seahawks' offense to open up more than it had in previous weeks. 

With Tavaris Jackson being very confident with Sidney Rice, expect the Giants to start keying in on this stellar Wide Receiver.

This will allow Tavaris to connect with other weapons such as TE Zach Miller and WR Golden Tate. 

In addition to Rice being a threat to open-up the passing game, the attention he will draw will also allow Seattles' running game to find some holes as the Giants' defense will be keying on Rice the entire game.

Seahawks' Run Defense

Against a team that loves to run the ball, the Seahawks will have a tough test keeping the Giants' in check.

One thing that will help them is the fact that they have an outstanding run-defense.

They are led by Chris Clemons, who is turning in a Pro Bowl season, and the big Red Bryant.

The Seahawks' run-defense is ranked first in the nation in the category of yards per run on first down, which they Giants love to do.

The Giants need to be wary of a very good Seattle run defense that will be able to stop the momentum of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs and put up good numbers.

If the Giants are to beat the Seattle Seahawks, they will likely have to do it through the air as Seattle is one of the best run-stopping defenses in the country.