The 2019 NFL season is in full swing, and we're here with a betting preview for Thursday's game between the banged-up 2-3 New York Giants and 5-0 New England Patriots from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
ESPN betting analysts Preston Johnson, Joe Fortenbaugh and Doug Kezirian combine to offer their best bets for the matchup.
Note: Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook. Odds as of Wednesday.
Fortenbaugh: Forget for a moment that tight end Evan Engram (knee), running backs Saquon Barkley (ankle) and Wayne Gallman (concussion) and wide receiver Sterling Shepard (concussion) will all miss Thursday night's tilt in New England and focus instead on the fact that a legitimate NFL defense in the Minnesota Vikings limited Jones to only 182 passing yards in Sunday's home loss.
Now consider the following: The Patriots currently rank tops in the league in total defense (238.4 yards per game), passing defense (160.4 YPG) and scoring defense (6.8 PPG), and what you have is a recipe for disaster for a rookie signal-caller. Oh, and let's not forget that since he arrived in New England, Patriots coach Bill Belichick is 11-0 at home against rookie quarterbacks.
Kezirian: This is an tough situation for the Giants. They are depleted at all the skill positions and now have to face arguably the NFL's top defense. Additionally, the Patriots have a very professional approach to these types of games and tend to handle their business, so I don't expect a letdown.
While New England's schedule has mostly afforded us blowouts against weak teams, I am confident they will shut down this limited Giants offense. I am eager to fade the Pats soon, as Tom Brady is finally showing his age, but with New York so limited at linebacker, he will be able to hit his targets for short throws. I lean to a Patriots cover in a low-scoring game, but the total has moved too much for a play on the under.
Pick: lean New England -17
Johnson: The stories in this game entering Thursday night for sports bettors are the injuries surrounding the Giants and the weather forecast showing rain and 15-20 mph winds. Though the New York offensive players who are out for Thursday's game (Barkley, Gallman, Shepard and Engram) are concerning, and the weather means we should see fewer points scored, the betting markets are clearly aware. This total was as high as 46.5 earlier this week and has now been bet down as much as six points at a few shops. There isn't any value getting involved in this game at this point in the week, in my opinion. I wish Danny Dimes the best of luck in Foxborough.
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Best bets for Giants-Patriots 🤑
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