Where: MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, NJ
When: Monday, September 17, 2017 – 8:25 PM ET
Line: Detroit Lions(+3) at New York Giants (-3); total: 42.0 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
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What You Need to Know
The Preamble
It’s a clash of two teams being on opposite directions. The New York Giants are surrounded with doubt after getting trumped by division rivals Dallas Cowboys at Jerry World in Week 1, 19-3, while the Detroit Lions are riding high from their confidence-boosting 35-23 dominance of the Arizona Cardinals at home.
What’s interesting is that even though the Lions may have the better momentum, the Giants are also well-poised to come out on top, as they playing in front of their home crowd, where they are winners of six-straight (5-1 ATS).
The Game
Along with the energy of their fans at MetLife Stadium, the Giants can feed off from their 17-6 win over the Lions last season. They controlled much of the pace during the game, and didn’t allow Detroit to score a touchdown.
Regardless of how stagnant it was this past week, the passing game will still pose a threat. The receiving corps, which has Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, and Sterling Shepard, among others, has a good mix of youth, speed, athleticism, aggressiveness, and experience. The backfield aren’t as imposing on the field and even on paper, but it’s good that the two main backs – Shane Vereen and Paul Perkins – are both capable rushers and pass-catchers.
Defense will remain as arguably the more influential strength of the G-Men, thanks mainly to the talent-filled defensive line and secondary. Overall, the unit ranked second in points allowed in 2016 (17.8 per game)
The Injuries
Speaking of talent, the most talented player in the Giants roster, Odell Beckham Jr., is still questionable to play in the game (ankle). His presence is obviously vital as he is the heart and soul of the offense. The fourth-year wideout has recorded 1,300-plus yards and 10-plus TDs in his first three seasons.
Joining Beckham in the injury report are DJ Fluker (knee), Jay Bromley (shin), and BJ Goodson (shin), who are all questionable. Linebacker Keenan Robinson remains out he while recovers from a concussion.
The play-calling and the offensive line
Forget OBJ’s injury, these are the two things that are concerning about the Giants.
The plays and schemes can be frustrating to watch when you consider how loaded the passing game actually is, and it is bewildering how slow and conservative they tend to play despite head coach Ben McAdoo being a former architect in the Green Bay Packers’ quick-trigger attack.
The O-line is very up-and-down. It offers decent pass protection for the most part, but its run blocking is just awful. In 2016, although they allowed the third-fewest sacks in the league, they helped guide the Giants into ranking in the bottom four in rushing yards and yards per carry.
Writer’s Prediction
The Giants (-3) win by slowing the game down, 20-13.
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