Giants Open Week 9 as an Underdog at Washington | Breaking It Down
Despite beating—barely—the Washington Football Team earlier this season, the 1-7 New York Giants enter this weekend’s game as a 3-point underdog, according to BetMGM.
Perhaps it was the fact that the Giants were one two-point conversion away from remaining winless, or maybe the oddsmakers just aren’t impressed by the Giants hanging in most of their games only to lose in the final minutes.
Whatever it is, it’s something of a surprise considering how the two teams have seen their seasons unfold. Let’s break the odds down and take a look at a little history while we’re at it.
ATS: -3 Washington Football Team
Over/Under: 41.5
Moneyline: -162 Washington Football Team/+135 New York Giants
The Giants are 5-3 against the spread this year, but a big reason for that has been the Giants ability to keep games close even in those instances where the oddsmakers have predicted them losing by double digits. Such was the case against the Rams (13.5 underdogs), the Cowboys (7.5-point underdog), and, most recently, the Bucs (13-point underdog)--all games in which the Giants beat the spread.
In the other two games in which the Giants beat the spread, against Chicago (+4.5) and Eagles (+5), the Giants kept those two games close as well, losing by four points and one point respectively—games that they very nearly won were it not for their own doing.
If you’ve bet the under for most of the Giants games this year, then you’ve probably walked away with some nice coin. The Giants have failed to top the over in five of their eight games this season, including two out of their last three.
But specific to their games against the Football Team, the last time people who took the over between these two teams won was in 2016, as since then, the under has come up in three straight matchups, including the one from three weeks ago in which the over/under was 42.
This time around, the oddsmakers lowered the under by half a point. Will that make that much of a difference? Well, if you go by the last four games in which the average point total was 38.7, the answer is no.
Overall, the Giants might be one of the best 1-7 football team the league has seen in recent years, which is why trying to play the odds when this team involved is so tricky.
They’ve been outscored by just 54 points, which is the second-best margin of defeat behind the 1-6 Texans (51) and which is followed by the Jaguars (66), Cowboys (85), and Jets (144), the teams that like the Giants are in position for a top-5 draft pick next spring.
Specifically to their road game at Washington, the Giants have won three out of their last four visits, including their previous two by 40 or more points.
Obviously, that was with different teams, but unlike Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, a House of Horrors for the Giants, FedEx Field has been a little more welcoming, while the home team a little less effective when it comes to games against the Giants.
