Seahawks vs. Giants: Key Matchups to Watch on MNF

Already without starting tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas, Seattle will enter Week 4 with an offensive line at well below 100 percent, as Brown took a knee to the quad during practice this week and received a questionable designation, while Haynes will be returning after missing last week's win in Carolina with a calf injury. Add in Damien Lewis missing a handful of snaps last week with a hand issue and all three players in the interior have been nursing some sort of ailment, which could complicate matters trying to stop Lawrence, Williams, and Robinson from dominating at the line of scrimmage against the run and turning up the heat on Smith.

--Seahawks safeties Jamal Adams and Julian Love versus Giants tight ends Darren Waller and Daniel Bellinger: Looking to add firepower for Jones at the skill positions, the Giants made their biggest splash of the offseason trading a third-round pick to the Raiders for Waller, who previously had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020. So far, however, the quarterback hasn't quite found a groove with his new target yet, as they have linked up 12 times on 20 targets for 132 yards and no touchdowns. Meanwhile, Bellinger, who had a solid rookie year with 268 yards and two touchdowns in 2022, has been a relative non-factor with just a pair of catches so far.

Down running back Saquon Barkley and playing behind a suspect offensive line, Jones should be expected to lean heavily on his tight ends as security blankets in the passing game on Monday. Love, who played four seasons for the Giants, likely will be Seattle's primary slot defender with Coby Bryant and Artie Burns sidelined and has struggled at times in coverage this year, allowing 13 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown. Along with targeting his former teammate, Adams will be playing in his first game in more than a calendar year and it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see New York test him early to see how rusty he is in coverage after a long layoff, especially if he gets matched up with the athletic Waller.

--Seahawks tight ends Will Dissly, Noah Fant, and Colby Parkinson versus Giants safeties Xavier McKinney and Jason Pinnock: From a health perspective, Seattle listed both Fant and Dissly as questionable on Saturday's final injury report, but the team should be full strength at tight end against an opponent that hasn't had much luck slowing down the position this year. Through three games, New York has allowed 189 yards receiving to tight ends, the second-highest total in the NFL behind only Detroit. Coverage issues at safety have been part of the problem, as Pinnock has allowed seven receptions for 123 yards and nearly 18 yards per catch and McKinney has yielded six catches for 76 yards. The two players have also missed a combined nine tackles, allowing receivers to create extra yardage after the catch.

Statistically, the Seahawks don't have any tight ends in the top 20 in receptions, but Fant and Parkinson rank first and second in the league among tight ends with at least five targets averaging 14.5 and 12.1 yards per reception respectively. Even after missing last week's game, Dissly still leads all tight ends averaging 8.6 yards after the catch per reception. Coupling Dissly's reliability in the intermediate game with Fant and Parkinson stretching the field as vertical threats, the Seahawks would be wise to continue prioritizing the trio in offensive game-planning with multi-tight end sets against a Giants secondary that has yet to find a solution for slowing down tight ends in the passing game so far.

--Seahawks outside linebackers Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Darrell Taylor, and Derick Hall versus Giants tackles Evan Neal and Joshua Ezeudu: After a sluggish opener against the Rams where the Seahawks generated only two quarterback pressures, Nwosu and company have come to life over the past couple of weeks. Starting with a second half surge in an overtime win over the Lions on the road, the edge rush group has contributed 15 pressures, three quarterback hits, and a sack over the previous two games. With Mafe and Taylor both healthy after missing game action during that time, the defense should have a full arsenal of pass rushing firepower to help take advantage of the absence of starting left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was ruled out on Saturday's injury report due to a hamstring injury.

Without Thomas last week, the Giants allowed 18 pressures on 36 drop backs, leaving Jones under constant siege. Ezeudu, who made his first career NFL start, gave up four pressures on his own. At the other tackle spot, 2022 first-round pick Evan Neal also struggled, allowing three pressures and a quarterback hit. For the season, the ex-Alabama standout has surrendered 13 pressures, the fifth-most of any tackle in the NFL, while also being tied for sixth with three quarterback hits allowed. Without Thomas available, the Seahawks should have another prime chance to get after the quarterback off the edge with their full complement of rushers.

--Seahawks running backs Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, and DeeJay Dallas versus Giants linebackers Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden: Despite having star power at defensive tackle, the Giants have not fared well slowing down opposing ground games, yielding 138 rushing yards per game while missing a combined 17 tackles as a team on run plays. Possessing contrasting skill sets, the athletic Okereke and thumping McFadden were supposed to provide a bit more schematic flexibility for coordinator Wink Martindale and help shore up their run defense, but the duo has combined to miss seven tackles and ranks 27th and 38th out of 42 qualified linebackers respectively in run defense grades per PFF.

Last season, the Seahawks couldn't get much going on the ground in a win over the Giants, as Walker was bottled up with just 51 yards on 18 carries for a 2.8 yards per carry average. If not for a 26-yard scamper by Smith, they would have had one of their worst rushing outputs of the entire season. But as the team gears up for Monday's rematch, the dynamic second-year back and Charbonnet are each coming off big games against the Panthers and their playmaking versatility as runners and pass catchers may present an opportune matchup for offensive coordinator Shane Waldron to try to exploit against a maligned linebacker group.