The New York Giants suffered a gut-wrenching loss to Washington in front of a Thursday Night televised audience last week. With the game on the line and just 4 seconds remaining, Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins missed a 48-yard field goal attempt which would have given the Giants the victory. The only problem is that the Giants were called offsides which negated the missed attempt and led to a secondary kick from 43 yards which Hopkins nailed for the victory. As a result, the Giants fell to 0-2 SU on the heels of two straight defeats, which were primarily the result of self-inflicted mistakes. On Sunday, the Giants will get a shot at redemption when they host the Atlanta Falcons at MetLife Stadium.
The visiting Falcons have been downright embarrassing in their opening two games. Last week, QB Matt Ryan tossed two pick-sixes in another dismal performance, which led to a 48-25 shellacking at the hands of the reigning Super Bowl Champs. With two horrible performances in the books, I am having an extremely tough time trying to understand why the Falcons are just 3 point underdogs in Sunday’s NFC pairing against the Giants. From a match-up standpoint, the Giants have struggled to create the pass-rush that has haunted the Falcons’ offensive line woes in recent weeks. By default, we should see QB Matt Ryan have more time to be effective in the passing game. I am just not convinced that will be enough to keep the Falcons competitive and strongly encourage bettors to take a look at laying the points in this match-up.
Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants Betting Trends
- Atlanta is 2-5 ATS in the last seven games
- Atlanta is 0-7 SU in the last seven games
- Atlanta is 05 SU in the last five games on the road
- Atlanta has hit the under the total in 9 of the previous 11 games against NFC opponents
- Atlanta has hit the under the total in six of the last seven games against the Giants
- New York is 2-4 ATS in the last six games
- New York is 1-5 SU in the last six games
- New York has hit the under the total in eight of the last nine games
- New York is 7-1 ATS in their last eight games against NFC opponents
- Get more details: Atlanta at NY Giants 9/26/21 Match-up Stats
Fading the Falcons
People may think I am exaggerating, but I honestly think the Atlanta Falcons are the worst team in the NFC by a fairly wide margin. In fact, I would probably label the Falcons the worst team in the NFL, but I believe the Jets still claim that title until proven differently. Following a 2020 campaign where the defense relinquished 30 points per game, Atlanta has given up point totals of 32 and 48 to the Eagles and Buccaneers. In reality, the defensive problems were inevitable as the Falcons had little opportunity to address those needs over the offseason.
Despite the heavy criticism around running back Saquon Barkley’s two-game sample following last year’s season-ending ACL injury, the Giants’ offense performed exceptionally well compared to expectations against a tough Washington defense last Thursday. QB Daniel Jones put the offense on his back with 249 passing yards with a touchdown and even helped in the running department with an additional 95 yards with a score on the ground. WR Sterling Shepard continued to provide the go-to threat in the passing game while receivers Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton proved they are capable of providing production as well. Simply put, this Giants offense is not nearly as bad as people expected and will only get better as Barkley recovers.
In a potential eruption spot against the Falcons defense, you have to like the Giants’ chances of moving the football and creating scoring opportunities. While I have faith the Giants will beat-up on the Falcons defense, it’s the battle on the other side of the ball that I expect to be the reason for the easy cover. Atlanta’s offensive line is flat awful in protection which is causing issues running the football and finding time for the likes of Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts to make things happen in the passing game. Matt Ryan is virtually being hit on every 1 of 2 dropbacks, and I will be surprised to see him last many more weeks at this pace. Until we see massive improvement from Atlanta’s offensive line, I just don’t see many paths to victory.
