NFL betting online action includes a matchup of teams coming off big wins last week as the New York Giants host the Detroit Lions at new Meadowlands Stadium. FOX will telecast the game with a scheduled kickoff of 1:05 PM Eastern. Sbg global sportsbook opened with the Giants as a 10.5 point favorite in NFL betting with an over/under of 44.5.
Better than their Record?
The Detroit Lions are coming off a long overdue 44-6 blowout win and cover at home over the St. Louis Rams which improved their overall NFL betting record to 1-4 straight up but a most impressive and profitable 4-1 against the spread. Detroit has been in all but 1 of their games this year and could easily be 4-1 as improvement has been slow but steady and the straight up results don’t reflect the jump in quality of play. The Lions offense has shown the most significant leap as it ranks 6th overall in the NFL for scoring while the defense ranks 23rd for points allowed. What is most impressive is that the improved play has been without starting quarterback Matt Stafford, who was injured on opening day. Backup Shaun Hill has a 78.0 quarterback rating as Stafford is questionable again for this week. Hill passed for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns last week.
Back on Track
The New York Giants stumbled out of the gate with a 1-2 start that had handicappers and fans speculating that they were every bit as bad as last year but they have rallied to win their last 2 games over Chicago and last week at Houston 34-10 to improve their NFL betting online record to 3-2 both straight up and against the spread. The Giants offense ranks 5th in the NFL as Eli Manning are picking up the pace. Manning lit up Houston for 297 yards and 3 touchdowns last week in his best performance of the season thus far. Best of all the Giants defense has shown marked improvement under new coordinator Perry Fewell and ranks 2nd in the league after shutting down the high octane Houston attack.
The Edge
Detroit is certainly an up and coming NFL betting commodity but should struggle against the Big Blue defense and the diversified Giants offense. New York has been an inconsistent team since last year but is beginning to show signs of more fundamentally sound play. If New York does let up Detroit can stay within the big number.