Denver Broncos vs New York Giants Point Spread Picks

Combine the Broncos (-425) and the Packers (-325) into a 2-team parlay at -163 odds.

New York started 1-7 last year, but they finished 5-3 to give them some momentum coming into this season. And they did it without star running back Saquan Barkley, who suffered a torn ACL and it's looking more and more as if he'll play this weekend. Daniel Jones still is a work in progress and should be more comfortable after a season playing in a new offensive system, plus the Giants have made improvements around him. They signed free-agent receiver Kenny Golladay and drafted wide receiver Kadarius Toney, although both are experiencing slight hamstring injuries, but should be ready for this game. The Giants also added some free agents on defense and still have a strong secondary. Denver looks solid on both sides of the ball except at the most important position as the quarterback situation is a big question mark. Teddy Bridgewater has been named this week's starting QB over Drew Lock, and he completed 69.1% of his passes past year with 15 touchdowns, but with 11 interceptions with Carolina. Denver is 2-6 ATS its past eight games as a favorite and 3-7-1 ATS its last 11 in September, and New York is 8-3 ATS its past 11 games as an underdog. The Broncos are 8-2 UNDER their last 10 as favorites, including 4-0 UNDER on the road. Take the Giants and the UNDER.

This is a low total because of the Denver defense, but the N.Y. Giants are #24 in the NFL in points allowed and are struggling badly against the run, allowing 139 yards on the ground per contest (#29). At least the snakebitten Giants finally have their offense going, scoring 24, 23 and 22 points the last three games. New York is 17-8-2 OVER the total after getting more than 150 yards rushing in their previous game. Denver comes off a bye scoring 82 points in its three home contests. The Broncos are one of the best rushing teams in the league, ranking third averaging 143 yards per game on the ground. The Broncos are 8-3-2 OVER the total at home against a team with a losing road record. Finally, playing OVER any NFL total between 35.5 and 42 points featuring a team like Denver in a non-conference tilt off a division game has cashed to the OVER 32 of the last 40 times. Play this one to finish OVER.

What Peyton Manning did last week was scary. In a game in which offenses are supposed to be shaking off a bit of rust, he tied an NFL record with seven TD passes against the defending Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens. The Giants played a miscue filled game at Dallas a week ago. Eli Manning threw three INT's, and the offense coughed the ball up six times in a 36-31 loss. Eli will be able to move the chains and score points in this game, but will his defense be able to keep him in the game? Denver's offense has now gone for 30+ points in 11 of their last 13 games. And, this offense is better than last year's version. The Giants defense gave up the second most yards in the entire NFL last season. The 36 points they allowed in week one didn't show anything to make you think they will be better this season, especially against the best offense in the league. Denver is now 39-17-1 to the OVER in their last 57 games overall, and the Giants are 13-3-1 to the OVER after rushing for less than 90 yards in their last game. This game is at Met-Life Stadium, which will host the Super Bowl, and Denver should be out to make a statement here, that they will be back. The Giants' running game looks uncertain with Wilson being benched for a pair of fumbles, and  backup Da'Rel Scott was injured, so expect the ball to be in the air a lot. I don't play favorites often, but Denver with Manning is lethal. With him under center, the Broncos are 11-2 ATS as chalk including 8-1 as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points. Play on Denver and the OVER here.

Denver hit a low last week. After a 6-0 start, they have lost four in a row, the last game a 32-3 drubbing that allowed San Diego to take over the division lead - something that seemed unthinkable when they owned a 3.5 game lead just four weeks ago. They have been outscored 117-37 over their losing streak. Even during their winning streak, Denver didn't get much support from the oddsmakers or public. After four weeks of horrid football, no one wants to touch them. The oddsmakers had to open them as a big home dog, and the public has pushed the line even higher. I believe Denver is ready to make a stand. New York comes in here off a win, but is this team really deserving of a TD-road favorite role? Before last week's win, the Giants had lost four in a row. They haven't covered the spread in five straight games. And, even in the win their defense gave up 31 points. Over the past five games, this defense has allowed 164 points - 32.8 per game! That's just the kind of defense that Denver needs to face right now. Coming in off a very short week, it's not likely that New York was able to remedy what ails them defensively. So there's no reason to expect a major change this week. Antonio Pierce is still out and that only makes matters worse for the G-Men defense. On offense, the Giants will be without Ahmad Bradshaw. With Brandon Jacobs having a bad year, and coming off a leg injury, don't expect the Giants to run the ball particularly well, especially against a Denver defense that is ranked 7th in the league in points allowed. Give me the home team with the much better defense, getting a touchdown.