The Week 2 NFL slate kicks off with a Thursday night matchup between NFC East foes the New York Giants and the Washington Football Team. Both teams started off 2021 with a loss, the Giants being particularly embarrassed in a 27-13 home loss to Denver and WFT not able to hold off Justin Herbert in a 20-16 defeat at home against the Chargers. Washington is a -3.5 favorite despite being swept in the series last season.
Giants May Have to Throw the Ball
One of New York’s biggest weapons is easing his way back into the rigors of the NFL, which made the Giants very one-dimensional in Week 1. Saquon Barkley tore his ACL in the second game of the season last year and was limited to 10 carries for 26 yards in the opener against Denver. It’s not a great situation when QB Daniel Jones is your leading rusher, scampering for 27 yards and a TD against the Broncos.
Expect a similar workload from Barkley with the quick turnaround for Thursday Night Football, which means Jones will likely have to lead the Giants through the air. That’s a tough spot for the 3rd year QB, considering Washington had the #2 pass defense in the NFL last season. Jones had just 324 pass yards total in two games against Washington last season, but somehow the Giants won both of those.
New York had just six wins total in 2020, and 1/3 of those came against Washington. It was the Giants’ defense that fueled the 23-20 and the 20-19 wins against WFT a year ago, but NYG will have to be better on that side of the ball than they were last week. Teddy Bridgewater was 28/36 in his first regular-season game running the Denver offense, while Melvin Gordon III ran for 101 yards on just 11 carries.
Heinicke Time for Washington
Washington was dealt a big blow in Week 1 after veteran QB Ryan Fitzpatrick injured his hip after throwing just six passes and is now scheduled to miss at least the next three to six weeks. Taylor Heinicke relieved Fitzpatrick and went 11/15 for 122 yards and a TD, which is not great nor horrible.
Heinicke started the wild card game for WFT last season, throwing for 306 yards before Washington fell 31-23 to Tampa Bay. Washington also has Kyle Allen on the roster if Heinicke struggles on Thursday night, and he could also be an option considering WFT has the NFL’s worst passing offense after the first week of action. Star wideout Terry McLaurin had just four targets in Week 1, which is unacceptably low.
WFT was 14th defensively against the pass last season but were ripped apart by Herbert in the opener. The Chargers star QB was 31/47 for 337 yards and a TD, leading the team to an early 4th quarter TD before the LAC defense buckled down the rest of the way. The good news for Washington is that Daniel Jones is no Justin Herbert.
Giants at WFT Pick
The total for this TNF contest is just 40.5, so it’s probably going to be another defensive slugfest like last season. Ultimately though, the hook looms large on the -3.5 spread, and with the Giants taking both games last year and WFT going with a backup QB, you have to take the points.
Washington 20 – New York 23
Free Pick: Giants +3.5
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