3 reasons for optimism in Week 5

The New York Giants will travel across the country on Sunday to take on the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

The Giants are coming in after nine days of rest having last played on Thursday Night Football where they suffered a 20-15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Seahawks, however, will be entering the game on short rest after dropping their first game of the season on Monday Night Football against the Detroit Lions.

With the status of star receiver Malik Nabers up in the air, the Giants come in as nearly touchdown road underdogs.

With the Giants desperately needing a win, here are three reasons for optimism.

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Seahawks on short rest

The Seahawks are coming off their worst performance of the season after losing in blowout fashion in primetime.

The Giants having an extra four days rest should give them a slight advantage going into Sunday afternoon. Plus, the Seahawks had to travel back from Detroit after their Week 4 matchup, so their air miles are piled up a bit (granted, so will New York’s).

The Giants should come in confident that Seattle is on short rest following a blowout road lost in prime time.

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Time of possession

The Giants dominated time of possession last week and were able to keep the game close against the Cowboys. Heading into Week 5, the Giants rank ninth in time of possession, while the Seahawks rank 17th overall in that stat.

Obviously, Brian Daboll would like that trend to continue.

If the Giants can control the time of possession and put a few touchdowns on the board, they will have a good chance of winning Sunday.

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An improved offensive line

As bad as the Giants have played this year, it’s hard not to look at the improvement along the offensive line and be proud that the Giants are finally playing behind a more than serviceable group.

Why does that matter in this matchup? Well, in last year’s matchup, the Giants surrendered 10 sacks and Daniel Jones was uncomfortable all game long.

This offensive line has played well as a unit and has been able to give more time in the passing game. this may be a crucial difference on Sunday.