The snake-bitten San Francisco 49ers are back in East Rutherford for a second straight Sunday, this time taking on the New York Giants as 4-point NFL betting favorites in Week 3.
The Niners’ most recent trip to MetLife Stadium produced a 31-13 victory over the New York Jets, but that day exacted a heavy toll, with multiple injuries suffered on both sides of the football. The Giants know that pain all too well, losing star running back Saquon Barkley to a season-ending knee injury last weekend.
Get our NFL free picks and predictions for 49ers vs. Giants on September 27.
San Francisco 49ers vs New York Giants betting preview
Weather
The forecast for East Rutherford is calling for cloudy skies and game-time temperatures in the mid 70s with light winds blowing up to 9 mph on Sunday. Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NFL weather info.
Key Injuries
49ers: Ronald Blair III DL (Out), Solomon Thomas DL (Out), Weston Richburg C (Out), Julian Taylor DT (Out), Raheem Mostert RB (Out), Tevin Coleman RB (Out), Nick Bosa DL (Out), Dee Ford LB (Out), Jimmy Garoppolo QB (Out), Richard Sherman CB (Out), Deebo Samuel WR (Out), Richie James WR (Out), Dre Greenlaw LB (Out), George Kittle TE (Out).
Giants: Saquon Barkley RB (Out), Adrian Colbert S (Out), Sterling Shepard WR (Out)
Find our latest NFL injury reports.
Betting Trend to Know
The Over is 11-5 in Giants’ last 16 games following a straight-up loss. Find more NFL betting trends for 49ers vs. Giants.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
My gawd. Just look at that body count above in our 49ers’ injury section. And that’s not just a bunch of second-stringers either. We’re talking major hits to the offense and defense.
The lookahead line for this game last week had San Francisco giving 6.5 points to the Giants before all the doom and gloom versus the Jets. And, despite all those missing pieces, this Week 3 spread reopened at 49ers -4 and has since been bet up to -4.5.
Sure, Barkley was a big part of the Giants’ playbook, but c’mon! All those ailments have to be worth more to the point spread than what we’re dealing with presently. New York wasn’t doing much on offense with the star rusher in the lineup in the first place, but it still has its starting QB and a defense that sits seventh in defensive DVOA at Football Outsiders through two games.
San Francisco doesn’t want to be here and was very verbal about its concerns surrounding the turf at MetLife Stadium. The Niners stayed out East to avoid multiple cross-country treks but even those plans ended up damaged – literally.
The truck towing the team’s MRI machine (the real 49ers’ MVP considering all those injuries) broke down on the way to The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, and the plane the team was flying on suffered a fender-bender on the tarmac before takeoff.
All signs point to a giveaway game for the reigning NFC champs, who just want to get the hell out of New Jersey.
PREDICTION: New York +4.5 (-110)
Over/Under pick
Both teams are going to be running on eggshells at MetLife this weekend. Kyle Shanahan is already coming up with reasons not to risk anymore key bodies and backup QB Nick Mullens is under center with not much “skill” around him in terms of skill players.
That’s a big reason why this total is at 41 points – easily the shortest Over/Under on the Week 3 board.
Mullens isn’t just a placeholder, however. He does have some solid experience going back to 2018 when he played in relief of an injured Jimmy Garoppolo and was eventually replaced by C.J. Beathard. Mullins looked OK last Sunday, connecting on 8 of 11 passes for 71 yards to close out the Jets.
The Giants look to young QB Daniel Jones to carry the offensive load with Barkley done. Jones has been on-and-off through two weeks of play, looking solid in the opening half versus Pittsburgh in Week 1 before falling back into his terrible turnover habits. He totaled only 241 yards on 25-of-40 passing against the Chicago Bears last Sunday, also throwing an INT.
Jones’ early output did come against two very strong defenses in Pittsburgh and Chicago and now he faces the empty shell of the San Francisco stop unit and a team whose motivations are very much in question for Week 3.
Neither side needs to do much to get Over this number, so pass altogether or bet on the Over. A play on the Under is just a sad-ass wager on a game already bogged down in sorrow.
PREDICTION: Over 41 (-110)
Player prop pick
With Barkley out and Sterling Shepard dinged up, Jones is going to look in the direction of tight end-turned-wide receiver Evan Engram early and often on Sunday.
Engram bounced back from a bad Week 1 effort with a solid Week 2 showing versus the Bears, catching six balls for 65 yards, including a 22-yard completion. With the 49ers lacking their usual pass rushers, Engram won’t be counted on to block as much and we could see him slide back out to WR.
The 6-foot-3 Engram is a handful for smaller defensive backs and the 49ers are missing their most physical pass defender, Richard Sherman. We like Engram to top his receiving total on Sunday.
PREDICTION: Evan Engram Over 42.5 yards receiving (-120)
49ers vs Giants betting card
- New York +4.5 (-110)
- Over 41 (-110)
- Evan Engram Over 42.5 yards receiving (-120)
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