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Edgar Chaput
Giants vs. Commanders Point Spread: NFL Week 2 Odds, Prediction
Washington and the New York Giants are among the oldest, proudest franchises in the NFL. You wouldn’t know it by looking at how things have gone recently. Neither fared well in their opening contests. The Commanders were ambushed by the Buccaneers 37-20 in QB Jayden Daniels’ debut. As for the Giants, they were booed out of their building courtesy of a miserable 28-6 showing versus the Vikings.
Our NFL odds see this one as a toss-up. The Commanders are presently favoured by the slightest of margins at -1.5. The over-under is 44.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Say what one will about how these franchises are doing, it’s still one of the long-standing NFC rivalries. A rivalry that the Giants have owned over the past five seasons, going 8-2 during that span. What’s more, New York has been a solid 4-1 as the visitors during the same period. The G-Men completed a two-game sweep of their eternal enemy in 2023.
Sloppiness and a visible lack of talent have dropped both the Giants and Commanders to a 0-1 start against the spread so far in 2024.
New York was a disaster away from MetLife Stadium last season, finishing the campaign 2-7 on their travels. That’s right, playing at Washington translated to one of their only two wins as the road squad. However, they were ever so slightly better ATS at 3-6.
The Commanders were one of the worst home sides in the league last year, finishing the season with a lugubrious 1-7 straight-up record. What’s more, they failed to cover a single spread in front of their fans with a 0-7-1 showing for their efforts in that category.
New York Giants
Jokes about the Giants resembling the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens with their anniversary uniforms aside, New York looked awful in Week 1. If one wants to be even harsher, yes, they also looked awful in those jerseys too. But NFL clubs don’t play for style points, they play to win, which is what the Giants utterly failed at when the Minnesota Vikings came to town.
Tough to swallow must have been the inability to run the ball (74 yards) given that former Giant Saquon Barkley is now shining in Philly. QB Daniel Jones tried to get rookie WR Malik Nabers involved and they connected for five catches and 66 yards. What does it matter that they drafted a sparkling new receiver and have Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton if Jones is going to average 4.4 yards per completion? Jones was picked off twice, once for a pick-six.
And although Vikings QB Sam Darnold has no direct ties to the Giants organization, there was a sense of irony that he had his best game in years as a member of the team visiting MetLife after some horrendous early days as a Jet.
Washington Commanders
If Daniel Jones has very few fans left, at least the jury is out on Jayden Daniels. He wasn’t good in Week 1 at Tampa Bay, but it wouldn’t do to scold a rookie passer after their first match against solid opposition.
In his defence, his defence (pun intended) didn’t help. The Commanders were torched for 392 total yards, which included multiple big plays, even though Baker Mayfield only finished with 289. Things weren’t looking great at halftime given the 16-7 deficit, but the defence stopped bending and simply broke in the second half, coughing up three TDs. Daniels himself went 17-for-24 for 184 yards with no TDs but also no INTs. He’s athletic, no question about it (88 rushing yards).
With weapons like Zach Ertz, Auston Ekeler, and Terry McLaurin, it could be a matter of time before this group figures things out. Suffice it to say that they haven’t yet.
NYG
WAS