Thursday Night Football Betting Picks: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Does anybody want to win the NFC East? Every team in the hapless division except the New York Giants took another loss in Week 6. Thus far, no team has emerged as the favorite to win the division. Thursday Night will bring a matchup between two divisional and geographical rivals – the woeful Eagles will welcome the inept Giants. Here are Thursday Night football betting picks for the NFC East showdown.
NFL Betting Tips: Use RotoGrinders odds tool to compare NFL Week 7 betting lines across the online sports betting industry and determine which sportsbook is best for your TNF betting picks.
Giants at Eagles NFL Betting Odds
70% of bets backing Philadelphia and 51% on the under, per ScoresandOdds.com.
Giants at Eagles TNF Betting Preview
Documentaries will cover the long-term rivalry between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles for years to come. Filmmakers and sports networks will produce hours and hours of content about the contests between the two local rivals. Not one of those hours will feature this game.
The Giants and Eagles continue to display a litany of flaws, preventing either team from gaining traction. Both teams have suffered catastrophic injures. New York most notably lost Saquon Barkley earlier in the season while the Eagles rotate a list of wide receivers each week that most casual fans could not pick out of a lineup. For the Giants, Sterling Shepard will be a game-time decision after returning from the IR with a toe injury.
The Eagles will return a few starters but will be without their budding superstar in running back Miles Sanders. Sanders compiled 525 all-purpose yards in five games through the first six weeks. Unfortunately, Sanders will miss tonight’s game with a knee injury. While Sanders is not necessarily out next week, the Eagles do have a bye in Week 9. Taking a cautious approach with their young star would be prudent.
Meanwhile, the Eagles should get back DeSean Jackson, Lane Johnson, and Dallas Goedert against the Giants. Goedert should be peppered heavily considering Zach Ertz will be on the shelf for the next 3-4 weeks after injuring his ankle. DeSean Jackson will help the Eagles and Carson Wentz keep teams honest with his ability to blow the top off of a defense. Jackson averaged 13.75 yards per reception during the first two weeks of the season and makes for an interesting DFS Captain option on DraftKings given his depressed $5,800 salary tag.
Update – Dallas Goedert will not play against the Giants.
Both Philly and New York sit in the bottom ten in points per game with the Giants only better than their stadium-mates, the Jets (16.8 and 12.5 respectively). Pass protection is an issue for both teams — the Giants have been sacked at a 7.80% rate while the Eagles possess a brutal 9.58%. Daniel Jones and Carson Wentz have been under fire but have not helped their own cause this season. At times Jones looks unprepared for the NFL game with nine total turnovers on the season.
Carson Wentz will look to spread it out against the New York Giants. The quarterback completed passes to nine different receivers in Week 6 against the Ravens. Wentz will need to keep all of his receivers active given the fragile state of the run game. Wentz makes a fine Captain option against the Giants knowing a bulk of the offense will go through him.
Barely coming up short against the Ravens in Week 6, Philly was favored by six points to start the week. At the time of this writing, the line has been bet down to 4.5 points across online betting sites — incentivizing Philly backers to jump back in. Should we take the bait?
Thursday Night Football Betting Picks
While the Giants were victorious in Week 6 against the Football Team, they succeeded in less than convincing fashion. As a matter of fact, the Giants were able to stop a two-point conversion to hold onto that lead late. As the Eagles get healthier, they represent a much taller task than Washington.
Was the loss of Sanders the main reason for a big shift in this betting line? Do bettors put that much stock into Sanders or was the number too large to start? At home, with a couple of capable veterans in Boston Scott and Corey Clement, I think the Eagles’ offense will do just fine against the Giants. Wentz has made a career out of getting the most out of less and will do the same on Thursday night. I will lay the 4.5 points.
TNF Betting Pick: Philadelphia Eagles -4.5 (PointsBet)
Giants and Eagles Player Props
Devonta Freeman Under 54.5 Rushing Yards (-112) (use our DraftKings promo code to get these odds)
Since joining the Giants, Freeman inserted himself as the top dog in the backfield. Receiving every carry for the Giants last weekend, Freeman notched 61 yards on 18 carries. The inefficient performance might not improve as the Giants run up against the Eagles rushing defense that is allowing 3.29 yards per attempt to opposing running backs. The Giants are underdogs and will likely need to throw the ball throughout the game. I will take the under over on DraftKings.
Darius Slayton Over 49.5 Receiving Yards (-112) (DraftKings)
The Eagles ceded 82 catches thus far to opposing wide receiver this season for better than 900 yards. With 23.3% of the target share for the Giants, Slayton is the main target for a struggling Daniel Jones. As seen in the past, Slayton is a big play waiting to happen with a pretty small yardage prop this evening. Given the spread and the projected game script, expect Slayton to see his share of targets on Thursday night. The return of Sterling Shepard could take away some targets but also should open up more room in the secondary for Slayton’s big-play potential. I will take the over.
First Touchdown Picks
Here are my first touchdown picks for Thursday Night Football at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Boston Scott +600
Travis Fulgham +1050
Darius Slayton +1300
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