The New York Giants surprised many last season by not only becoming a solid football team, but by turning quarterback Daniel Jones into an acceptable NFL starter. Head coach Brian Daboll looked like a genius. Jones received a huge new contract, and the expectations rose considerably for this new season. There were some similarities to Seattle in that regard.

While Geno Smith has gone a long way toward proving last season was not a fluke, and some of the Seahawks new additions are helping to address problem areas from last year, Jones and the Giants have taken an epic nosedive.

New York started the season being outscored 60-0. First, with a 40-0 shutout at home to the rival Cowboys, and then falling behind 20-0 to the better-than-expected Arizona Cardinals. They would go on to stage a big comeback and win that game, before being blasted by the 49ers last week.

They enter this Monday Night Football game teetering on the edge of a lost season. Their offensive line has been a wreck, suffering through injury and poor performance. They expect to get back their left tackle this week, and a starting guard. They may get their star running back Saquon Barkley back from a high ankle sprain, but that is more iffy. They need this win.

That is the strongest reason to think the Giants could win this game. There are very few tangible, evidence-based, cases to be made for why New York is better than Seattle. Vegas has this as a toss-up, with the Giants favored by 1.5 points (home team usually gets 3).

Seattle is hoping to get healthy for this one as well. Jamal Adams is supposed to make his debut, back in the city where his NFL career began. Riq Woolen is expected back. Charles Cross may return.

This could quickly turn into a home field disadvantage if the Giants fall behind and struggle. New York fans are eager to share their frustrations, and will not be patient.

Seattle will get the best effort of the season from the Giants, but should prevail in this one.

The way this works: Each offense will be pitted against the opposing defense and compared on an array of key statistical attributes based on their respective rank in the NFL. The tables that follow show the rank of each unit for each of these categories.

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Seahawks Offense vs Giants Defense

Giants key advantages on defense

Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams are two of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, and they play next to one another. Both are elite disruptors, and can collapse almost any pocket. If that is not enough, New York has two other defensive tackles playing well this year in D.J. Davidson and Jordon Riley. This will be the biggest test for the Seahawks interior line since week one against Aaron Donald. Phil Haynes has quietly been one of the best guards in football for the two games he played. It would be important if he can return.

Former Cardinal Isaiah Simmons can be a weapon on defense.

Most importantly, the Giants are one of the heaviest blitzing teams in the NFL, and Smith has struggled against the blitz so far this year. Well…he had until last week. Smith put up a sparkling 89.8 grade against Panthers blitzes. If he can do that against the Giants, goodnight.

Seahawks key advantages on offense

This Giants defense has been pretty darn bad. Their coverage skills, in particular, have been awful. They get no break this week. Seattle features one of the most efficient offenses in football.

In spite of what should be catastrophic injuries to the offensive line, Andy Dickerson has his motley crew ranked in the top half of the league in pass protection and run blocking by multiple measures. The Seahawks run game really found its footing in the second half against the Panthers. Zack Charbonnet continues to earn more snaps and gain confidence.

Smith has mostly erased the awful second half in week one, and is back among the top 7-8 quarterbacks in the league by passer rating, EPA, PFF grade and more. With warm, dry, weather forecast for Monday, Seattle should have the right environment to pass or run.

Cross returning would be a big deal. I would not be surprised if they waited until after the bye. If he does return this week, that could allow for more three receiver sets that might get Jaxon Smith-Njigba untracked.

Giants Offense vs Seahawks Defense

Giants key advantages on offense

Barkley can be a game-changer when healthy. He had a tough go against a bad Seahawks run defense last year. Seattle has a much better run defense this year.

Darren Waller can be a dangerous target. Julian Love faces his former team and was expected to limit tight ends this season. This is a tough matchup. Love showed signs of regaining his level of play last week. Repeating that against a tight end like Waller would be a great sign.

Jalin Hyatt is a burner. Darius Slayton is a solid receiver, who is better than the old guy who carved up the Seahawks for almost 150 yards receiving last week.

Jones is a bad quarterback, but a dangerous runner. Watch for him, especially on 3rd downs.

Seahawks key advantages on defense

This may be the first time we get to see the best the Seahawks secondary has to offer. Devon Witherspoon is gaining steam and will love the lights of primetime. Adams returns to New York with bad intentions. Tre Brown will hopefully be cleared to play after a concussion. Artie Burns has supplanted Coby Bryant inside.

The ideal picture for Seattle would be for the pass rush to build on their best performance last week, when they led the NFL in total pressures with 36, and for the coverage to get stickier. Jones has already thrown four picks, and Seattle would love to snag a few more.

Boye Mafe was a revelation against the Panthers with a ton of pressures, and life off the line. Mario Edwards has shockingly been one of the best interior pass rushers in football this season. Jarran Reed has come on, and we saw a few good signs from Cameron Young.

This is a struggling Giants offensive line. If Seattle can bottle up the run like they have done all season, the pass rush could cause serious problems.

Side note: this might be a game to play Devin Bush more. He is the fastest of the linebackers, and could help in keeping Jones in check on scrambles.