The football season is upon us — well, kind of. As training camps continue on, teams get their first taste of competition.
As part of the slate for the opening week of the preseason, the New England Patriots and New York Giants will match wits in Foxborough on Thursday night.
It’s the start of yet another campaign at the helm for Bill Belichick, who’s entering his 23rd go-round in Massachusetts. Now two seasons removed from Tom Brady’s departure, he has his quarterback in Mac Jones.
The same isn’t as easily said for Giants coach Brian Daboll, a former assistant in New England. He spent his last four seasons in the AFC East, coordinating Buffalo’s offense. He’s seeking to provide the same help for Daniel Jones as he did Josh Allen.
NFL 2021-2022 Season Scoreboards
New England finished with a 10-7 record in the regular season a year ago before being bounced from the playoffs by division rival Buffalo.
A seven-game winning surge followed a 2-4 start, going a long way in vaulting the Patriots into the postseason.
The New York Giants dropped seven of their last eight, including six straight, to round out 4-13. Each of the losses during that losing skid came by double digits.
New York Giants vs. New England Patriots Betting Analysis
Giants Analysis
It won’t come as a surprise if Jones sees at least some time behind center. Daboll likely wants to get a better look at the passer who will presumably start for him this season.
Since passing for over 3,000 yards and 24 scores as a rookie, Jones’ performance has declined over the previous pair of schedules. Also, he has yet to register more than five wins in a season.
New York had the second-worst attack in terms of yards per game in 2021. Only New Orleans had fewer total yards through the air than the Giants did. Their ground game, spearheaded by Devontae Booker and Saquon Barkley, ranked 24th in the league.
This will be fifth-overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux’s first chance to suit up for the Giants. In three seasons at Oregon, the rookie pass rusher racked up 126 tackles, 35.5 of them being for a loss.
Patriots Analysis
With Jones operating the unit, New England’s offense was relatively average when it came to total yardage last year.
It was top 10 in first downs and rushing attempts, yards, and touchdowns. Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson combined for north of 1,500 yards on the ground.
As it pertains to catching the football, Jakoi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, and Hunter Henry led the charge. The latter pulled in a team-high nine scores.
NFL Updated Injury Report
Running back James White is the only notable NFL injuries on the Patriots’ side, as he’s dealing with a hip injury. There’s no timetable set for him to return to practice.
New York has a pair of pass-catchers who are questionable to participate as of this writing. Kadarius Toney, a former first-round selection heading into his second season, is hampered with a knee injury, while Robert Foster returned to practice on Sunday. His ailment is undisclosed.
Giants vs. Patriots Betting Preview
We’ve broken one of this week’s NFL matchups down, so let’s make Patriots vs. Giants betting predictions.
NFL odds have the visiting crew as two-point favorites on the spread at -110, while the Patriots are the same to cover. New York is -125 on the moneyline, while New England is a +105 underdog.
The total is set at 33.5 points, with the over being -110 and the under the same.
Giants vs. Patriots Betting Prediction
Daboll has a lot more to figure out, which means his major players should be on the gridiron longer than Belichick’s.
Even if Jones and Barkley don’t stay out there for long, backups Tyrod Taylor and Matt Breida both have a good amount of professional experience. It’s possible that Taylor ends up with the starting job before long. The Giants will cover on the road, getting out to a promising start.
NFL Pick: Giants -1.5 (-110)
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