Giants Open as 1.5-Point Home Underdogs Against Struggling Saints

The New York Giants held onto first place in the NFC East despite a 27-27 overtime tie with the Washington Commanders in Week 5.

Now, they return to East Rutherford to face the New Orleans Saints, an opponent that looks like a favorable matchup for extending their lead.

Oddsmakers aren’t sold. FanDuel Sportsbook opened Big Blue as a 1.5-point home underdog in its lines for the NFL’s Week 6 slate.

While the opening spread is an improvement, the Giants are being doubted for the second consecutive week after they were 3.5-point underdogs against Washington. FanDuel also set the total at 45.5 points, up two points from last week.

Saints Coming with a Chip on Their Shoulder?

The New Orleans Saints are another team that will play desperate for a win against the Giants on Sunday. — Oct 11, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker (7) reacts to a touchdown with safety Jordan Howden (31) against Minnesota Vikings during the first half at Caesars Superdome. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This isn’t the first time the Giants have been handed an odd opening line, but this week’s number may be the most confusing of the season.

After three gritty performances by John Harbaugh’s group, including two defensive shutdowns that closed out a pair of thrilling victories, the Giants have earned more respect against inferior opponents like the Saints, who arrive in East Rutherford at 1-4.

However, like the Commanders, who went up 27-13 in the third quarter but failed to set up a game-winning field goal in the waning seconds of overtime, the Saints are desperate for a win.

New Orleans opened the season looking like one of the biggest surprises, losing 31-30 on the final play of overtime to the Detroit Lions before stunning the Baltimore Ravens on the road for its only win of 2026.

Since then, the Saints have dropped three consecutive games to fall into last place in the NFC South, a division that has been less than impressive overall. Even so, they sit only two games behind the first-place Carolina Panthers.

The rough stretch, which included their defense allowing a combined 80 points in two weeks, has drawn sharp public criticism from Saints owner Gayle Benson, who challenged her franchise to provide the results its loyal fans deserve.

With the weak state of their division and the outcry from their owner and fanbase, the Saints should arrive motivated to challenge a Giants team that has started slowly in its last few contests.

The Saints offense is not one to overlook, ranking 16th in the NFL in points per game (23.6) and 20th in yards per game (322.0). Its strength is the passing game, led by second-year quarterback Tyler Shough, who is off to a solid start with the seventh-most passing yards and third-most touchdown passes in the league.

Shough and the offense are asked to score often because of the defense, which has allowed the second-most points per game, including at least 23 in each of the last three games.

The ground game is where the Giants could have an edge. The Saints defense has given up an average of 148.8 rushing yards per game and 10 rushing touchdowns, the most in the league through five games.

If the Giants clean up the run game and ball security and get back to playing bully ball in the trenches, they should be able to handle a Saints team still searching for the early-season form that grabbed everyone’s attention. The oddsmakers may be underselling them at home.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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