Football is back for New Yorkers (and…area) as the New York Jets and the New York Giants take on each other in East Rutherford in Week 1 of the preseason. There are still plenty of questions these two teams will have to answer in relation to their preparation for the 2019 NFL season, but some of those could be answered in this game. The Jets are priced +600 to win the AFC East, while the GIants are +1250 to win the NFC East.
The Jets are coming into a new season with lots of new faces. Among them is Adam Gase, who now takes over the head coaching gig for the Jets. Then there’s running back Le’Veon Bell, who is finally set to get back into the field after missing all of 2017. But don’t expect to have that much workload in this preseason matchup against the Giants, if he’s going to be given at all. The same could be true for quarterback Sam Darnold, who had a shaky rookie season in 2018 in which he passed for 2,865 yards and 17 touchdowns against 15 interceptions. He’s expected to be better this year, and with the starting gig safely in his hands, look for Trevor Siemian, Davis Webb, and Luke Falk to split the quarterbacking duties in Week 1 of the preseason. Of the three, Siemian has the edge in the contest for the backup duties, as he is the most experienced of them. In three seasons in the NFL, he passed for 5,686 yards and 30 touchdowns with 34 interceptions.
The under is 5-0 in the Jets’ last five preseason games.
Betting on New York Giants (0-0 Preseason)
The Giants still believe that Eli Manning is their best option under center, though, they did get a quarterback in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft in the form of Daniel Jones. The former Duke Blue Devil signal-caller has a long way to go before being a reliable starter for the GIants, but he’ll learn a lot by playing in these preseason games, beginning with the matchup with the Jets. Moreover, the preseason will help the Giants in sorting and finding out the identity of their passing game, particularly in their receiving corps that will have to cover a gaping hole left by Odell Beckham, who’s now with the Cleveland Browns. Despite all the bad press the Giants are getting these days, there are actual legitimate talents on the team outside of running back Saquon Barkley. Among them is vetereran Golden Tate, who’ll be the top option downfield for Manning, but he could be in danger of suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on PEDs.
The Giants are 3-2 against the spread (ATS) in their last five preseason games.
