When I asked Brian Daboll on Wednesday for his evaluation of the Giants’ pass rush through the first quarter of the season, the third-year head coach pointed to the defense’s improved sack total. True. The Giants actually rank third in the NFL with 15 sacks. They had only four through four games last season, so in that sense the defense is getting to the quarterback more frequently under coordinator Shane Bowen than predecessor Wink Martindale. But as we all know, context matters and pass-rushing is about more than just sacks. Eight of those 15 sacks came in one game at Cleveland, and the Giants rank only 17th in pressure percentage (hurries, knockdowns and sacks), per Pro Football Reference. “We have quite a bit more sacks at this time of the year than we did last year, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement,” Daboll said. “Those four guys are starting to gel in terms of pass rush games and communication, and that’s a work in progress. There’s been some good and there’s been some, obviously, things we can keep on working.” Those “four guys” refers to interior linemen Dexter Lawrence and Rakeem Nunez-Roches, plus outside linebackers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. Lawrence, Burns and Thibodeaux are expected to deliver a strong pass rush for the Giants so that they don’t need to blitz often this season, especially with a suspect secondary. Yet that’s hardly been the case. The defense’s mammoth eight-sack game came when Bowen unconventionally blitzed on 53.2 percent of the Browns’ dropbacks, and the Giants have the fifth-highest blitz rate in the league overall. When Bowen dialed back the blitzes last Thursday against the Cowboys, the Giants pressured Dak Prescott on only seven of his 27 dropbacks and recorded one sack. Part of the problem is that Lawrence is now being consistently double-teamed without playing next to Leonard Williams, whom the Giants traded to the Seahawks and will face when they travel to play Seattle on Sunday. “We’ve got to expect it, but we’ve got to do a good job finding ways to get hands off of him,” Bowen said of the double teams. “That’s our job as coaches. I think that falls on the players as well. We’ve all got to do a little bit more to hopefully force them to put hands on somebody else.” Still, Lawrence has managed three sacks and six QB hits. The Giants really need more from their investment in Burns, their offseason splash move via a sign-and-trade, and Thibodeaux, the fifth pick in the 2022 draft. Burns had only two pressures against the Cowboys and has one sack and three QB hits on the season. Sorry, that’s not good enough for a player being paid more than Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt, and in the same tier as San Francisco’s Nick Bosa. Then again, perhaps the Giants duped themselves into believing Burns would take his game to another level while playing alongside Lawrence and Thibodeaux. This is a player who recorded only one double-digit sack season in five years with Carolina and has been known to disappear for stretches. He’s never been a consistent game-wrecker, but that’s what the Giants are paying him to be — and it cost them the ability to upgrade elsewhere. Burns is slated to carry no less than the third-highest salary cap hit on the team through 2028, and the trade cost the Giants a high second-round draft pick. They picked at No. 47 this year instead of No. 39, which kept them from selecting a potential game-changer in Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. That’s the thing about big acquisitions. They aren’t made in a vacuum, and they have ripple effects on the rest of the roster. Had the Giants not overpaid for Burns, they would’ve had more resources to devote to the secondary and elsewhere. But it would be unfair to judge Burns in New York on only four games. Thibodeaux, meanwhile, has only 1.5 sacks so far. In fact, the Giants have totaled seven sacks from the secondary and inside linebackers, which again goes to show that blitzing has played a bigger role that Bowen likely anticipated. Is that bad? Not entirely. The Giants have allowed the 12th-fewest points in the league, and they surrendered only two touchdowns in two of their losses to the Commanders and Cowboys combined. But the lack of disruption has allowed opponents to operate with clean pockets in critical junctures of games, and frankly, the pass rush is supposed to be one of the strengths of the team. We know that Daniel Jones isn’t a franchise quarterback at this point and won’t carry the Giants to victories. This is a big week for the Giants’ pass rush to step up. Seattle has been pressured on the 10th-highest percentage of dropbacks, and Pro Football Network ranked the Seahawks’ offensive line as the fourth-worst coming into Week 5. Moreover, the Seahawks have committed four turnovers in their last two games while not forcing any since Week 1. “It’s not just the front four, so we’ve got to understand that as a defense as well, with just what we’re asking these guys to do coverage-wise, what we’re playing, to be able to buy a little bit more time potentially for those guys to get home,” Bowen said. “But I’m pleased with where they’re at. Again, I don’t think the production ultimately shows the effectiveness of them up to this point. I’m sure they’d all love to have multiple sacks. Hopefully they come, but at the same time, I think they’re doing a good job for us.” Giants Gameday The Game: Giants (1-3) at Seahawks (3-1), Lumen Field, Seattle, Wash., Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS) The Line: Seattle by 7 History: The Seahawks lead the all-time series, 11-10 and have won two straight and six of the last seven matchups since 2011. The Seahawks have already beaten the Giants twice in the Brian Daboll era: 27-13 in 2022 in Seattle and 24-3 in 2023 in East Rutherford. Key Matchups: Giants WR Jalin Hyatt vs. Seahawks S Julian Love: Old friend alert as the Giants face a player they drafted in 2019. Love grew into a Pro Bowl safety with Seattle last season and will play a key role in slowing down explosive passing plays. The Giants will likely try some deep shots to Hyatt because of Malik Nabers’ absence. Giants LG Jon Runyan Jr. vs Seahawks DE Leonard Williams: Another old friend alert! The Giants traded Williams to Seattle last October. The 30-year-old has been a difference-maker again this season as he recorded 1.5 sacks and 8 QB hits before injuring his ribs in Week 3. He should be back in action against a Giants offensive line that has been solid in pass protection but weak in run blocking. Giants CB Nick McCloud vs. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba: McCloud is in for a big role again if Adoree’ Jackson and Dru Phillips miss another game. Smith-Njigba has emerged as a key complementary target for Geno Smith with 226 receiving yards through four games. Giants OLB Brian Burns vs. Seahawks RT Stone Forsythe: Burns needs a bounce-back game after recording only two pressures against the Cowboys. Seattle being forced to start a third-string right tackle because of injuries is part of what makes this a poor offensive line, so Burns needs to take advantage when coming off of the left edge. Injury Report: Giants: OUT: WR Malik Nabers (concussion); DOUBTFUL: RB Devin Singletary (groin); QUESTIONABLE: CB Adoree’ Jackson (calf), CB Dru Phillips (calf), LB Matt Adams (quad). Seahawks: OUT: DT Byron Murphy II (hamstring), NT Cameron Young (knee); QUESTIONABLE: S Julian Love (thigh), LB Boye Mafe (knee). Giant Facts: There have previously been 25 teams to start 1-3 since the NFL moved to a 17-game schedule in 2021. Only three of those teams made the playoffs. … The Giants rank sixth in red-zone defense as offenses have scored touchdowns on only 40 percent of red-zone trips. … Daniel Jones ranks 27th in yards per pass attempt (6.1). The Prediction: Seahawks 24, Giants 13