Given the state of the NFC East, the winner of Week 6’s battle between the Washington Football Team and New York Giants will be thrust into contention for the division crown. That’s saying something, since these rivals have one victory between them.
The NFL betting odds have New York as a 3-point favorite at home Sunday, facing a Washington offense with an identity crisis under center. Right now, Kyle Allen is the starting QB, but Alex Smith and Dwayne Haskins could easily find themselves in action Sunday.
Enjoy our NFL free picks and predictions for Washington vs. Giants on October 18.
Washington Football Team vs New York Giants betting preview
Weather
The forecast is calling for temperatures in the mid-60s and a mix of sun and cloud with winds blowing SE up to 15 mph in East Rutherford on Sunday. Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NFL weather info.
Key Injuries
Washington: Dwayne Haskins QB (Out), Michael Liedtke G (Out), Joshua Garnett G (Out), Saahdiq Charles T (Out), Thomas Davis LB (Out), David Sharpe T (Out)
Giants: Lorenzo Carter LB (Out), Sterling Shepard WR (Out).
Find our latest NFL injury reports.
Betting Trend to Know
The Under is 14-3 in the last 17 head-to-head meetings in East Rutherford. Find more NFL betting trends for Washington vs. Giants.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
Alex Smith and his return to football was the big story out of Washington’s loss to the L.A. Rams Sunday. But Kyle Allen gets the nod from Ron Rivera for this game after leaving the Week 5 contest with an arm injury. He was cleared to return but the team stuck with Smith, and it cost them any chance of a comeback in the second half.
Allen was OK in limited work, completing 9 of 13 passes for 74 yards while scrambling for a 7-yard touchdown run before leaving the field ahead of halftime. Washington managed just 10 points in the end, and has scored 20 or fewer points in each of its past four games since its 27-17 upset over Philadelphia in Week 1.
The Football Team are bringing up the rear in most offensive categories, including sacks allowed after watching their quarterbacks get tossed around for eight on Sunday (21 on the season). However, Washington has faced some ferocious defenses to start the schedule with the Eagles, Browns, Ravens and Rams throwing a lot at opposing quarterbacks.
Allen and this DC offense takes on a New York stop unit that struggles with consistency and has been beaten by sub-par QBs already this season. The Giants let Dallas backup Andy Dalton orchestrate a game-winning drive after Dak Prescott went down midway through the third quarter, and have been dealt L’s by the likes of Mitch Trubisky and Nick Mullens in 2020.
While Washington has dropped four straight games, those came against quality opponents and the Football Team never really seemed too far out of it – as far as the point spread is concerned. It kept those bettors holding a ticket on the other side sweating into the fourth quarter.
PREDICTION: Washington +3 (-110)
Over/Under pick
While the Washington offense is a mess, the defense has made this team competitive against quality offenses. The Football Team have faced the Rams, Ravens, Browns and Cardinals in the past four weeks, with those foes holding a combined record of 15-5 and an average scoring clip of 28.45 points.
Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA metric (which accounts for quality of opponent) is giving Washington plenty of respect, with the Football Team sitting fourth overall in the league. They’ve done a solid job shutting down third down tries (39.44%) and rank seventh against the run heading into Week 6.
The Giants don’t pose nearly as dangerous a threat as those past opponents – regardless of the 34 points they scored against Dallas’ dreadful defense (one of those TDs came on an INT). New York still got stuck opting for four field goals in that game (three of them from 50-plus yards) and sit dead last in offensive DVOA, averaging a piddly 16.2 yards per game.
These divisional rivals have produced Under results in past meetings (2-5 O/U last seven matchups) and currently own the lowest Over/Under total for Week 6… for a reason.
PREDICTION: Under 43 (-110)
First Half Pick
The Giants defense isn’t terrible, at least not for a full 60 minutes.
New York, which ranks 11th in defensive DVOA (again not terrible), would be much better if it could stop falling behind so quickly in the first half. The G-Men are giving up an average of 16.6 first-half points per game – more than 62 percent of their total points against so far in 2020.
Washington hasn’t been stellar slowing down foes in the first half either, giving up an average of 19 points in those opening 30 minutes. But again, the Football Team has played some very potent scoring offenses and the Giants have countered with just over eight first-half points per outing in those games.
We see Allen breathing a little life into a Washington attack putting up an average of nine points in the first 30 minutes over the past three games, including 10 first-half points against the Rams on Sunday. The spread is pretty thin as it is, so we’ll go for Washington to hold the lead at the break in Week 6.
PREDICTION: Washington first half moneyline (+121)
Washington vs Giants betting card
- Washington +3 (-110)
- Under 43 (-110)
- Washington first half moneyline (+121)
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