The Washington Football Team’s hopes for another NFC East title took a huge blow in Week One, when starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick went down with a hip injury in the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite an intrepid defense, backup Taylor Heinicke could not lead the team to a win. Next up, Washington hosts the New York Giants, who have quarterback inconsistency of their own. Daniel Jones played well enough through almost three quarters before fumbling down in the red zone in Week One against Denver. That miscue swung momentum in the Broncos’ favor.
Which team can get their first win of the season in Washington? Don’t miss our NFL betting preview.
NFL Preview: N.Y. Giants at Washington Football Team (Thursday, September 16)
When: Thursday, September 16, 2021, 8:20 pm ET
Where: FedExField, Landover, MD
TV: NFL Network
Radio: Westwood One
Live Stream: Amazon Prime Video
NFL Odds: Washington -3.5 / O/U 41
Why should you bet on the Giants?
Daniel Jones made it through the opener without throwing any interceptions and had 267 yards through the air, with a touchdown pass. He also led the team with 27 rushing yards and had that crucial fumble. Saquon Barkley, coming back from a torn ACL, only had 26 yards on nine carries. The ground game only picked up 60 yards overall and will need to be more productive to allow Jones more balance and keep the pressure off the passing game.
On defense, the Giants permitted 27 points against a Broncos team that struggled to score last year. Logan Ryan led the team with ten tackles, but the team could not get much pressure on Teddy Bridgewater last week. Azeez Ojulari had a sack, but there was not consistent harassment on Bridgewater during the game. If you like the Giants, you see their defense improving against a unit with a backup quarterback — but remember that Taylor Heinicke held his own against Tampa Bay’s defense, keeping Washington in the wild-card playoff game into the fourth quarter.
Why should you put your money on Washington?
Washington has now dropped three straight games at FedExField. While Heinicke completed 73.3 percent of his passes against the Chargers, he only threw for 122 yards, as his attempts were primarily short, safe passes. Logan Thomas and Terry McLaurin combined for 92 receiving yards and got the lone receiving touchdown. On the ground, Antonio Gibson ran for 90 yards on 20 attempts, and if the running game can establish itself against the Giants, Washington should be able to establish a steady rhythm and keep the Giant offense off the field.
The defensive unit is Washington’s strength, especially after Fitzpatrick’s injury. Washington allowed 424 yards against the Chargers but held a solid offense to just 20 points. Cole Holcomb led the team with 11 tackles. Montez Sweat registered a sack of Justin Herbert last week, but the Washington pass rush can — and needs to — do better against Daniel Jones if Washington wants to grind out this win.
Final Score and Betting Prediction
Thursday night games tend to be grindfests with less offense than usual, thanks to the short recovery and prep times from Sunday’s action. With Daniel Jones running one team and Taylor Heinicke running the other, the “under” isn’t a bad choice here, even though the point total is just 41. I’m not sure that home field means a whole lot in the NFC East, but Washington’s defense is more suffocating — and Heinicke has shown that he can do a serviceable job leading an offense. I predict a final score of Washington 20, New York 16.
NFL Betting Odds
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