New York Giants vs. Detroit Lions – Week 8 NFL Betting Analysis
New York Giants (2-5 2-5 ATS) at Detroit Lions (2-3-1 4-2 ATS)
Both of these teams in this NFC matchup have lost three in a row and the Lions are the 7-point home favorite with a total at 49.
The public has really backed the Lions at home in this game, as they opened as a 3.5-point favorite and as of Thursday are a 7-point favorite.
In their last games the Giants lost to the Arizona Cardinals 27-21 and the Lions lost to the Minnesota Vikings 42-30.
Both teams have lost to tough opponents in their last three games and the Giants have only averaged 15 ppg in their three-game skid. Daniel Jones has not played well after getting off to a great start to his rookie season and the team may lean heavily on the run in this game with Saquon Barkley.
The Lions defense has been bad in the last few games and on the season, they rank 2nd to last in the league in yards allowed per game, 28th in rushing yards allowed, and 30th in passing yards allowed.
These teams met last in the 2017 season.
The road team has covered the spread in seven of the last nine games between these teams.
Can’t Give it Away
In their loss to the Cardinals the Giants had more overall yards (263-245) but gave it away with three turnovers while not forcing any.
Jones passed for 223 yards with a TD and a pick and in his last four games he has 7 INT and only 4 TD. He was under pressure the whole game and was sacked eight times after only being sacked once in the previous game.
Golden Tate led the way in the loss to the Cardinals with 80 receiving yards and the Giants do not have a very good WR corps.
In his first game back after missing time with an ankle injury Barkley rushed for 72 yards with a TD and averaged 4 yards per carry. He is listed as questionable for this game with ankle soreness, but he will go and he will have to play well for the Giants to get the W.
The Lions have played three teams with great offenses in their last three games but in this game face a Giants’ offense that is only averaging 18.9 ppg.
Defense Does Lions in Again
In the 42-30 loss to the Vikings the Lions’ defense was bad, yet again, giving up over 500 yards of offense giving up 338 passing yards and 166 rushing yards.
Matthew Stafford passed for 364 yards with 4 TD and one INT in the loss to the Vikings and he has 7 TD and one pick in the last three games. Danny Amendola and Marvin Hall Jr. combined for 198 receiving yards in the Vikings loss, but the team only rushed for 81 yards.
Kerryon Johnson leads the Lions with 308 rushing yards but is out after being put on injured reserve. J.D. McKissic (109 yards) will get most of the touches out of the backfield and Detroit could sure use a spark from the run game, which ranks 18th in the league in rushing yards per game.
The Giants’ defense has not been as bad as the Lions, but they still only rank 23rd in the league against the pass and 26th against the run.
Our Prediction
The Giants have covered the spread in eight of their last 10 road games and the Lions have covered in four of their last five games overall.
Well, one team will end their losing streak in this game and that team will be the Lions. Look for him to have a big game and get some help from the run game. Both defenses will not play well, and this game will be a shootout and one the Lions will win and cover the spread.
PICK: Lions -7