Lions vs. Giants Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 1 Odds, Prediction
The 2024 NFL preseason has technically already kicked off with the Hall of Fame Game, but now it’s time for the rest of the league to get in on the action. The Giants and Lions open this week’s preseason schedule Thursday night at MetLife Stadium.
New York opened as a 3.5-point favourite to win on the NFL preseason odds, with the total set at 35.0.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
These teams are coming off very different results last season. Detroit claimed a division title for the first time in 30 years with a 12-5 record and narrowly lost in the NFC Championship Game. The Giants significantly regressed in Year 2 under Brian Daboll, missing the playoffs with a 6-11 record.
Neither head coach has a great preseason track record, but Daboll has been particularly bad at 0-6 against the spread in his career. In fact, Daboll is the only current head coach (excluding first year coaches) who has never covered the spread in a preseason game. Detroit’s Dan Campbell is 4-6-1 ATS in his preseason career, including 2-2 ATS in Week 1.
After years of struggling, the Lions enter 2024 as +1200 Super Bowl contenders on the NFL futures board. Detroit is also a +135 favourite to win the NFC North and +550 to win the conference. It’s expected to be much more bleak for New York this season as they are tied for the second-longest Super Bowl odds at +15,000. A more realistic wager on the Giants is to take them to finish third in the NFC East (+180) or fourth (-125).
Detroit Lions
The Lions took a massive step forward last season, coming within a field goal of reaching the Super Bowl for the first time ever. Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown were one of the best quarterback-wide receiver duos in 2023. Goff had a career-best 67.3 completion percentage, while St. Brown set new career-highs in every major receiving statistic.
Unfortunately, you won’t see the starters play much in Week 1 of the preseason and Goff will not play at all. That leaves Hendon Hooker and Nate Sudfeld to split signal calling duties. Sudfield played the majority of the snaps when Detroit beat the Giants in Week 1 of the preseason last year, throwing for 194 yards and two interceptions with no touchdowns. Hooker, a third round draft pick in 2023, didn’t see any game action last year, but he was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.
New York Giants
The biggest off-season loss for the Giants is running back Saquon Barkley, who signed a three-year contract with division rival Philadelphia. The rookie to look out for is wide receiver Malik Nabers, who New York took sixth overall out of LSU. Nabers was a unanimous All-American and first-team All-SEC in 2023.
Starting quarterback Daniel Jones, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, has asked to play in the preseason, but his snaps should be very limited in Week 1. Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito will split the majority of the game. Lock still believes he can be a No. 1 quarterback in the league, so don’t expect him to play things safe as he’s essentially auditioning for a starting job with another team. Undrafted DeVito quickly became a fan favourite last season, but his ceiling is as a backup or third-stringer.