Back the Seahawks to handle the Giants with ease and cover as small favorites on MNF

Few NFL teams have looked poorer on both sides of the ball than the New York Giants this season. Yet BetMGM oddsmakers have them as just 1.5 point underdogs against the Seattle Seahawks entering Monday Night Football.

The Seahawks haven’t had a perfect season by any means. But they’re 2-1 and have scored 37 points in each of their last two games. They average the sixth most points per game in the NFL while New York average the third fewest.

I understand that the Giants are at home, but outside of a Week 2 second half comeback, we’ve seen nothing from New York to suggest they’re capable of hanging with Seattle.

(8:15 p.m. EST, Monday, ESPN)

In Week 1, the Giants were infamously blown out at home in primetime 40-0. Last week in primetime, New York were clearly outclassed and were fortunate to only lose by 18 points. In Week 2, New York was down 20-0 at halftime.

With the exception of Week 2′s 31 point second half that saw Daniel Jones look like his old self, the Giants have looked like they’ve slept through the start of the regular season.

Darren Waller was projected to be a star pass catcher but he’s been slow and has had drop issues. Rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt is arguably their best most talented catcher and only has two catches. In addition to being third to last in points per game, New York’s third to last in points per play and yards per game.

Their defense hasn’t been any better statistically, giving up the third most points per game and tallying just two sacks. Their front seven, especially Kayvon Thibodeaux, has been miserable pressuring the quarterback and stopping the run.

The script couldn’t be different on offense for Seattle. The Seahawks have gotten fantastic contributions on the ground from Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. They average 4.3 and 4.7 yards per attempt, with Walker contributing four touchdowns on the year.

Geno Smith has been quiet in comparison to the start of last year, but his completion percentage remains top ten in the league. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett remain an elite wide receiver tandem that could give the Giants’ inexperienced secondary fits.

If there’s any area of concern for the Seahawks it’s their defense. They gave up 30, 31, and 27 points in their three games. Their sack percentage ranks just one spot ahead of the Giants (Third worst), and they surrender over 400 yards per game.

Things could start to improve this week however, as standout cornerback Riq Woolen returns from injury and safety Jamal Adams is set to play his first game since Week 1 of last year. Although Adams might not be the same player he was a few years ago, he’s a three-time All-Pro member which warrants noting.

While I’ve been incredibly down writing about the Giants in this prediction piece, I couldn’t have been a bigger supporter of them in the offseason. I still believe in Brian Daboll as head coach and think Jones can be a franchise quarterback.

But the offensive line (Which will be without their best player Andrew Thomas again) has been a liability and the run game has been rendered nonexistent without Barkley. We still haven’t seen Jones unleash his running skills to the fullest yet.

Seattle’s defense gives Jones and the Giants a good chance to put together a full consistent game due to how poor they’ve been. But even if New York does finally play good offense through four full quarters, New York’s defense will have to step up too.

The Seahawks offense is in sync after consecutive 37 point outings, and I see the Giants defense having an incredibly difficult time stopping them. That’s the number one reason I have the Seahawks winning by more than 1.5 points.

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