Eagles vs. Giants Total Prediction
NFC East rivals meet on Thursday Night Football this week as the Philadelphia Eagles visit the New York Giants. Given the offensive struggles for both teams, is the betting total set too high for this matchup?
Game Snapshot
103 Philadelphia Eagles at 104 New York Giants
8:20 p.m. ET, Thursday, October 11, 2018
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Eagles are 3-point favorites to beat the Giants. The total, meanwhile, sits at 44 points. As of this writing, 67% of the public betting tickets are on the Eagles to cover the point spread.
Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles placed RB Jay Ajayi on injured reserve with a torn ACL, ending his season. The injury came almost entirely out of thin air; Ajayi missed a few snaps with a knee injury on Sunday but returned to the game. It’s possible he played on a torn ACL in the second half. The Eagles’ backfield is all sorts of banged up; Corey Clement has missed two weeks with a quad strain, and Darren Sproles has been out with a hamstring injury. It’s possible Wendell Smallwood will have to carry the bulk of the load in Thursday night’s game against the Giants. UDFA Josh Adams is the Eagles’ only healthy alternative.
New York Giants
Coach Pat Shurmur said Monday that Evan Engram (MCL) has a “shot” to play on Thursday night against the Eagles. It still seems like a long shot, but the news is at very least notable for Engram’s chances of returning by Week 7. When Engram sprained his MCL on September 23, he was given a 2-4 week timetable. It’s been 16 days since his injury. Blocker Rhett Ellison has been filling in as the Giants’ primary tight end.
NFL Betting Trends
Philadelphia
The over is 5-0 in the last five meetings between the Eagles and Giants.
New York
The over is 6-0 in the last six meetings between these two teams when the game is played in East Rutherford.
Prediction
These two teams have struggled offensively for most of the season but there has been signs of life of late. Carson Wentz completed 24-of-35 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles’ loss last week to the Vikings while taking a small step in getting back to where he was a year ago when he was an MVP candidate for most of the season. His 8.89 YPA suggests that he’s throwing the ball more vertically. Meanwhile, the Giants scored more than 30 points last week in Carolina, which was the first time they surpassed the feat since 2015. As noted above, the over has been a great play in previous meetings between these two teams and with the number sitting below 45, I like the over to hit on Thursday.
NFL Week 6 Prediction: Eagles/Giants over 44