Giants Seek Fifth Straight Win Over Washington

Daniel Jones and New York (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS) hope to continue their recent mastery of Washington (0-1, 0-1) when the NFC East rivals square off on Thursday Night Football. The Giants swept the season series last year and are 6-1 SU in the last seven meetings.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

New York attracted the majority of betting attention after Sportsbook as a 4-point underdog, prompting oddsmakers to drop the line to 3.5. Bettors have also eyed the UNDER after seeing both offenses struggle in Week 1, causing the total to dip to 41 by the time of writing.

New York News & Notes

The Giants are 0-1 for the fifth straight year and the 10th time in the last 11 seasons following a 27-13 loss to Denver in Week 1. New York’s defense didn’t come up with many stops, forcing just one punt until late in the fourth quarter, as the Broncos strung together six consecutive drives of 50 yards or more. Denver also went 3-for-3 on fourth down and controled the ball for nearly 11 more minutes than New York.

Part of that disparity in the time of possession could also be blamed on the Giants’ running game, which was virtually non-existent other than 27 yards from quarterback Daniel Jones. New York’s running backs combined to average just 2.4 yards per carry on their 14 attempts, an issue that might have cost the G-Men most when they got into the red zone.

Including a Jones fumble inside the Denver 20, New York scored just once in four red-zone trips, turning the ball over twice on downs. The Giants struggled to finish off drives with touchdowns last year as well, finishing second-last in the NFL in red-zone percentage, which helps explain how they’ve gone UNDER in each of their last eight games.

Washington News & Notes

Taylor Heinicke will be the 10th different quarterback to start a regular-season game for Washington in the past five years after veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick was placed on injured reserve following Sunday’s loss to the Chargers.

Although Heinicke hasn’t started a regular-season NFL game since 2018, he did start for Washington in last year’s playoffs in place of Alex Smith, throwing for 306 yards and a touchdown. He was also a serviceable 11 of 15 for 122 yards and a TD in relief of Fitzpatrick in Week 1.

With a short week to prepare and Heinicke under center, Washington might put an even greater emphasis on a running game that generated nearly half of its yardage in Week 1. Second-year running back Antonio Gibson accounted for 90 of the team’s 126 rushing yards against the Chargers and added another 18 on three receptions.

Although it held LA to 20 points, Washington’s defense wasn’t much better than New York’s last week when it came to getting stops. Washington allowed the Chargers to convert 14 of 19 third downs, and rookie cornerback Benjamin St-Juste was repeatedly burned in pass coverage.

Staff Betting Pick: Giants +3.5

Catching more than a field goal with the underdog Giants looks like great value in a divisional matchup where points should be at a premium.