The New York Giants are the Rodney Dangerfield of the 2022 NFL season. No respect, I tell ya, no respect.
Coming off a dominant home victory over the lowly Houston Texans, in which the sportsbooks only had the Giants laying 4.5 points, the 7-2 squad has another home tilt this week against the 3-6 Detroit Lions. And the spread is 3 points, with FanDuel offering the best odds at -106. On the moneyline, the best offer sits at FOX Bet, with the Giants -154 favorites.
The books like these two squads to at least put up some points, as the over/under is pegged at 45, with PointsBet giving the best bang for the buck at -107. But yes: At home, with a 7-2 record, the Giants are mere field-goal favorites over the Lions.
To the NJ sportsbooks’ eyes, the Giants are so ugly, they have to wrap themselves in meat to get the (under)dogs to play with them. No respect, I tell ya, no respect.
Speaking of no respect: A quick look ahead to the Thanksgiving Day tilt in Dallas shows that the Cowboys are favored by a full touchdown.
The matchup
On paper, the Giants look awesome in this matchup against Detroit. The Lions’ rush defense is ranked 27th in Football Outsiders DVOA, and everyone knows Brian Daboll is willing to feed Saquon Barkley all day long.
The sportsbooks don’t disagree, pegging Barkely’s rushing yards prop at a hefty 97.5 at -115 across the board. And despite having to lay -154 at the SuperBook, Barkley’s anytime touchdown prop is looking tasty.
Most scrimmage yards per game:
Saquon Barkley – 125.3 🍎 pic.twitter.com/lwkeA1MExu
— PFF (@PFF) November 17, 2022
On the receiving side, Darius Slayton’s deep ball ability has him at +250 at the SuperBook to score anytime, but the higher-risk bet is with Isaiah Hodgins, who very well might be starting opposite Slayton, played under Daboll at Buffalo, and is +400 at BetMGM to score.
Another eye-catching prop is Daniel Jones’s passing yards, which is set at 194.5 (-115) at DraftKings. Three times the Lions have given up fewer than 194.5 passing yards in losses to the Patriots, Cowboys, and Bears. And in those three games, the Lions gave up 573(!) combined rushing yards.
So if you think Daboll might try and shake things up a bit and let Jones cook, that 194.5-yard prop is very hittable. But it doesn’t preclude Barkley from hitting his over, as only once have the Lions kept an opposing team under 100 yards rushing this year.
Photo: Chris Pedota/USA TODAY
