The NFL reverts to the single Monday Night Football fixture in week 4, as the Seahawks head east to take on the Giants at MetLife Stadium. These two teams both made the playoffs last season, and whilst the Seahawks appear to be in the running yet again for a Wild Card spot in the NFC, the Giants are struggling, with only a come-from-behind win over the Cardinals saving their blushes to start this season. A massive game for the Giants here on Monday Night Football.
Below, we will dissect the matchup, previewing how we think things will play out, and give out our Best Bet. Make sure you are following BeforeYouBet, as we will have dedicated Match Previews for all Prime-Time NFL games this season, as well as a preview of the main slate on Monday’s. All for free!
NFL Week 4 Preview & Betting Tips
Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants
MetLife Stadium, Tuesday 3rd October, 11:15am (AEDT)
Last Week
The Giants have enjoyed a nice mini bye since they last played, going down to the 49ers 30-12 on Thursday Night Football in week 3. The Giants struggled to get anything going offensively, managing only 150 total yards, and only 29 rushing yards, against an elite defensive unit. They had big holes on the offensive line, whilst also missing Saquon Barkley, and they will desperately need some good news on the injury front this week to keep their season alive.
The Seahawks were in a tighter battle than they probably should have been, eventually getting by the Panthers 37-27 at home. Whilst their offense, particularly the running game, looked solid, they will be concerned about their defence allowing 27 points to an anemic Panthers’ offense, despite the Panthers constantly giving away silly penalties whilst with the ball. Kenneth Walker balled out, with 156 all purpose yards and 2 rushing touchdowns, whilst Geno did enough to get the job done. Conceding close to 30 points a game, the alarm bells will be ringing if the Seahawks allow this Giants offense to get going this week.
Injury Report
New York Giants
Andrew Thomas (OT) – OUT
Wyatt Davis (OG) – OUT
Jarrad Davis (MLB) – OUT
Chris Myarick / Tommy Sweeney (TE) – OUT
Aaron Robinson (CB) – OUT
Bryce Ford-Wheaton (WR) – OUT
Saquon Barkley (RB) – Doubtful
Seattle Seahawks
Latrell Bumphus / Mike Morris (DE) – OUT
Austin Faoliu / Bryan Mone (DT) – OUT
Tre Brown / Artie Burns (CB) – OUT
Abraham Lucas (OT) – OUT
Noah Fant / Will Dissly (TE) – Questionable
Charles Cross (OT) – Doubtful
Kobe Bryant (CB) – Doubtful
Evan Brown (C) – Questionable
Match Preview
These teams met in week 8 last season, with the Seahawks getting the 27-13 win at home. The game was close, in fact the scores were locked at 13-apiece with just over 11 minutes remaining, however two late Seahawks touchdowns got them home. The stats show a game where both offenses struggled, but I don’t see that being the case in this matchup, with both defences struggling so far this season. In fact, both teams rank in the bottom 5 in the league for points conceded per game, so points shouldn’t be at a premium in this one.
The Seahawks were 1-point favourites on the lookahead, before re-opening 1.5-point favourites. The number has since ping ponged between each team being slightly favoured, however with the confirmation of Andrew Thomas being out, and the likely continued absence of Saquon Barkley for the Giants, the Seahawks appear to be consensus favourites in the market now. My number is Giants by 1, so once again in Prime Time we have the wrong team favoured, in my opinion.
As for the total, it has been bet up after opening 45.5 to a flat 47. I agree with the move, as indicated earlier, neither of these teams has been able to stop anything defensively. However, if it bumps up much further, I will consider a play on the under. But for now, we will wait and see.
Just a small play here on the Giants, as I don’t fully trust this team in 2023. Both these teams are flawed, but I’m hoping Coach Brian Daboll has managed to right some of the issues on offense in the 10-day turnaround the Giants have had. If this somehow ever gets to Giants +3 once Barkley is ruled out, I’ll play the +3 as well, but for now just a straight up play on a Prime-Time home favourite.
I’ll also have a small play on the Giants to cover the spread at half-time. This has been a solid trend in recent years, and given the Giants are getting a start, you win on a tie at half-time.
Other Bet
Giants (+0.5) 1st half spread - $1.83 @ Bet365 (1u)
Giants to Win
$2.15 (1.5 Units)
