Welcome to the New York Giants betting angle, Week 18 edition. It’s the last of these columns for this season, since Big Blue will once again be watching the NFL playoffs from a distance. Each week, I’m giving you my three favorite wagers for that week’s New York Giants game. My one rule: I won’t ever give you wagers that are less than -120. No gimmies here.
The Giants wind things up with a home date against the 7-8-1 division rival Dallas Cowboys. New York snapped a nine-game losing streak last week against the lowly Raiders, and now they’ll try to end another. Dallas has won the last nine contests between these teams, and 16 of the last 17 meetings have gone their way. The two teams went to overtime when they met in Week 2, with Dallas ultimately prevailing ,40-37.
The line on FanDuel is DAL -3.5, with a game total of 49.5. Decent weather (for January in northern New Jersey) is forecasted for the game. Week 18 is tricky, so my overall advice is to be careful out there. Neither of these teams has anything to play for, and it’s hard to know if or when some starters might get pulled.
My picks were 1-2 last week, after 2-1 efforts the prior two weeks. I’ll try to give you winning bets to end the season, but again, it’s a good week to stay away.
Here are this week’s picks. All lines and odds are from FanDuel and are as of Saturday, January 3. NOTE: FanDuel (as of Saturday afternoon) had no passing, rushing, or receiving props posted for this game. There isn’t all that much to choose from.
- Game total OVER 49.5 (-115). I expected this number to be above 50, so I’ll jump at this, even with the Week 18 uncertainty. Dallas ranks 30th in the NFL in total defense, and the Giants rank 29th. Dallas is also first in points allowed (477), and fourth in points scored (454). It’s rare for a team to both score and surrender 450 points in the same season – Dallas is just the fifth team in NFL history to do it. Jaxson Dart bounced back nicely last week, and the Giants can move the ball and score. With the weather not being much of an issue, I don’t think the teams will be hurting for points, even with some players likely to miss the game. The first game of the season between these two teams yielded 77 points. I don’t expect that, but something in the 50-60 range feels doable.
2. Giants team rushing + receiving yards OVER 350.5 (-114). There aren’t a lot of bets to choose from this week, but I like this one. Even without Wan’Dale Robinson, the Giants will be facing a defense that yields almost 400 yards per game – dead last in the league. I expect plenty of rushing from Jaxson Dart and the backs, and enough passing game success for this over to hit.
3. Cowboys UNDER 379.5 rushing + receiving yards (-114). Let’s stay here, since there isn’t much to choose from. Dallas should have no issues moving the ball, but three factors bring me to this pick. First, Dallas could be without its top two rushing options (or they could be limited). Second, New York’s defense has been playing better the last couple of weeks and is pretty healthy right now. And third, Dallas could pull starters at some point in the second half. 380 is a big number, given all those variables in a meaningless game.
Those are the picks for Week 18. Good luck with your wagers!
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