While it isn’t quite regular season football, it feels amazing to have our favorite sport back when the Lions take on the Giants on Thursday.
The Lions reached the Conference Championships last season, while the Giants had a terrible 6-11 season. However, this is a fresh year and both teams are looking to the future.
Don’t miss our NFL picks and predictions for the Lions vs Giants.
Lions vs Giants prediction
My best betGiants -3.5 (-105 at BetMGM)
My analysisYou never really know what to expect to in preseason and the Detroit Lions trip to MetLife to face the New York Giants is even trickier to call than usual. Ordinarily, we’d look at how both coaches have treated preseason previously but neither Dan Campbell nor Brian Daboll have great records, they certainly can’t match somebody like John Harbaugh or Mike Tomlin. In three years at the Lions, we’ve seen Campbell go 3-6 in preseason with Daboll on 3-3.
Then we look at what’s been going on in the scrimmages between the two teams but again that makes it hard to tell also. Daniel Jones has been cooking the Lions’ secondary and looked genuinely impressive at times, but again this is preseason and we’re unlikely to see Jones at all, although there’s no confirmation yet. The big story has been the Giants’ Malik Nabers who has absolutely torched the Lions in scrimmages, with the rookie being the talk of the practices, catching nearly everything and scoring multiple TDs. It’s still unclear how much of a role he’ll play but if he does suit up he could take the Lions’ second and third-string secondary apart.
It’s always smart to look at who’ll be playing at quarterback in these games and the Giants certainly have the strongest array of talent behind their starters, at least from what he knows. Behind Jones, the Giants have both Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito. Neither are top-tier QBs but they are capable. Drew Lock has spent time in Denver and Seattle since being drafted in the second round by the Broncos in 2019, while DeVito is 3-3 as a starter with the Giants.
The Lions have Nate Sudfeld, a perennial backup who has yet to start a game since being drafted by the Commanders in 2016. Then there’s Hendon Hooker, who is the great unknown here. Picked in the third round of the 2023 draft from Tennessee, he came into the league as somebody with some hype but his rookie season was derailed with injury. However, the fact he’s only third on the depth chart is a concern.
There’s every chance that Hooker could surprise us and ball out against the Giants’ second-string defense but we have no evidence of that to base a bet on. However, we do know how bad this Lions’ second string was last season, something that seems to be unchanged in practices so far. With that in mind, we have to take the Giants to cover here.
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Lions vs Giants odds
Lions vs Giants live odds
Lions vs Giants opening odds
- Spread: Detroit +4 | New York -4
- Moneyline: Detroit +165 | New York -195
- Over/Under: Over 36.5 | Under 36.5
Lions vs Giants betting trend to know
Dan Campbell had a winning record in his second and third seasons in charge of the Lions but is 3-6 as Lions HC in preseason. Find more NFL betting trends for Lions vs. Giants.
Lions vs Giants game info
| Location: | MetLife Stadium, Meadowlands, NJ |
| Date: | Thursday, August 8, 2024 |
| Kickoff: | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | ABC |
Lions vs Giants weather
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Sam Farley
Betting Analyst
Sam is based in the United Kingdom, where he grew up living and breathing soccer, before discovering – and playing – a different kind of football at the University of Bristol. He’s worked in the media covering soccer and the NFL for the better part of a decade, and has been a regular on the Matchbook NFL Podcast. His work has also appeared in a wide range of publications including The Telegraph, The Independent, VICE, and MSN.
The search for great betting value is a daily one, and Sam always hunts out big prices with a particular focus on player props. Sam’s best advice for bettors is to track their bets on a spreadsheet, that way you can keep an eye on your P&L but also the types of bets and sports that you are most successful in. He also recommends using a variety of different sportsbooks, with bet365, Betfair and Paddy Power amongst his favorites.
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