Week 1 in the NFL was bookended by some high drama on the gridiron and living up to that expectation is going to be difficult, but there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned division rivalry to fuel the competitive fires. The (0-1) New York Giants head into FedEx Field to take on the (0-1) Washington Football Team with more than just bragging rights on the line on Thursday Night Football.
(+150) New York Giants at (-175) Washington Football Team (-3.5, o/u 40.5)
Both Washington and the Giants took losses in their first games of the season, but not all 0-1 records are created equal and it’s important to look at the quality of those Ls. The Giants are visiting so I’ll start with them. New York was looking to open the season with a win after acquiring big-threat receiver Kenny Golladay and reliable tight end Kyle Rudolph in the offseason and getting running back Saqoun Barkley back from injury. However, Barkley didn’t look like he’s back at full speed and he’s listed as questionable on the injury report for Thursday’s game. He isn’t the only one either as TE Evan Engram, linebacker Cam Brown, and guard Shane Lemieux are out. With some new pieces in place, it’s at least somewhat understandable to think that it may take some time to get in sync on offense. However, it’s the 27-points given up by the defense that is maybe a bigger cause for concern.
While I wouldn’t classify them as an elite unit, the Giants’ defense proved themselves to be formidable and finished 12th in total yards and 9th in points allowed. There’s no question that their run at the division crown last year was predicated on their defense, so to start the season getting shelled by a Denver team that was 28th in total offense and 28th in scoring has to be cause for concern. The Broncos made some improvements in the offseason as well and got some guys back from injury, but still. Safety Jabrill Peppers is one of the Giants’ veteran defensive leaders and he’s already expressed (let’s call it) concern over his usage, so that’s probably not good. For the G-Men to have success in this next game and beyond, they are going to need their best defensive players to lead by example and it’s tough to do that when they aren’t on the field.
Speaking of veteran leaders that won’t be on the field, Washington lost newly-signed starting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick for 6-8 weeks when he got injured in their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The MRI showed “hip subluxation” which means his hip isn’t dislocated but it’s not exactly in the right place either. This was a particularly sad injury because the long-time veteran QB had contemplated retirement before finding a home and a starting job in Washington. He’ll be out 6-8 weeks and Taylor Heinicke steps into the starting job. He almost led them to victory in the season-opener but came up just shy, but he also had a pretty good performance against Tampa Bay in the first round of last year’s playoffs and gave the eventual Super Bowl champs a scare, throwing for 300-yards and a touchdown while tacking on 4-carries for 46-yds and a score. While Heinicke may not have been the plan, I think he’s earned his teammates’ trust and he’s got the talent around him to make it count.
This is a tough game to pick, partially because of the injuries and things of a personnel nature but mostly due to the fact that these teams are very similar and evenly matched. Washington is favored by 3.5-pts here but that seems like it may be too much given how these teams played one another last season. *New York won 20-19 in October and 23-20 in November, so the over/under is right where you’d expect it at 40.5-pts. I wouldn’t want any of that action but WSH at -175 on the moneyline is probably as good of a look as you’re going to get here.
I’m going to favor the Football Team here because of the defense. That Justin Herbert-led Chargers offense is potent and tough to deal with and, even though he threw for more than 300-yds, WSH mostly mitigated the damage and still held them to 20-pts. Daniel Jones played reasonably well for New York but he never got his team in a position to be competitive, let alone win, and the garbage-time TD run was a stat-padder. Considering it was the 20th-anniversary memorial for 9-11 and the Giants were at home, I really expected more of an effort. It’s still very early but I didn’t see a team that’s ready to go on the road, banged up, frustrated, and beat a team that had a hard-fought effort after losing their starting QB. I’ll take Washington in a close, defensive game.
Pick: Washington
Vs Spread: Giants +3.5
Under: 40.5