Thanksgiving Day NFL Football - Giants (-6.5) vs. Broncos
by Charles Jay
Thursday, November 26 - 8:20 PM ET
NFL Thanksgiving Day BetUS football betting odds: N.Y. GIANTS -6.5, Total 42
In the BetUS NFL odds, the Giants are listed as a 6.5-point favorite, with a posted total of 42 points.
Things have gotten very, very bad for the Denver Broncos, and football betting people are well aware of it.
The kinds of things a lot of people were worried about with the Broncos at season's start have come to pass. Kyle Orton, the quarterback who had held steady throughout the team's six-game winning streak to start the year, went down with an injury, leaving things in the hands of Chris Simms, which apparently was adequate for coach Josh McDaniels.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
- NY is 0-5 ATS in its last five games
- NY has lost four of its last five games SU
- NY has played four of its last six games OVER the total
- NY has covered 17 of its last 21 road games
- NY has won 19 of its last 24 road games SU
- DEN has lost its last four games SU
- DEN is 0-4 ATS in its last four games
- DEN has played eight of its last ten games UNDER the total
- DEN is 3-9-1 ATS in its last 13 home games
- DEN has played ten of its last 11 home games UNDER the total
Also...
- NY has won five of the last seven meetings SU
- Four of the last six meetings have gone OVER the total
Simms, who has lived on family reputation throughout his college and NFL career, but never proved to be worthy of a starting slot, was just two-for-four in starting his first game since the 2006 season. Orton, who is severely hampered with an ankle injury, had to enter the game in relief, to no avail as San Diego scored a 32-3 rout. However, teammates admired his guts, and it is likely he will be playing against the Giants.
Giants -6.5 vs. Broncos >> Join Now
Otherwise, things are falling apart. Brandon Marshall is somebody who's sometimes on decent behavior when things are going well, but when things start to go badly, he falls into the category of Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson as a troublemaker. Marshall and rookie Knowshon Moreno got into a shoving match on the sidelines after Moreno fumbled near the goal line. Marshall blamed Moreno for killing the team, then mouthed off about his teammates after the game.
Denver has now lost four straight (also in the football betting odds), all of them by double digits, and they have surrendered 117 points in that time.
So I guess now we'll find out what kind of "genius" Josh McDaniels is, won't we? After playing the Giants, the Broncos play Kansas City twice and Oakland once, so there is a chance for a nine-win season, which would keep them in playoff contention. There are also games against Indianapolis and Philadelphia, which means they better not slip up.
Hey, the Giants looked like they were headed in that direction, after losing four straight games themselves. During that time they had not topped 356 yards on offense and were having problems in the secondary. On Sunday they got off that streak with an overtime win over Atlanta, which was fueled by a big game from Eli Manning, who had 384 yards passing with three touchdowns.
You have to keep in mind that the Giants have been very good on the road. As you can see in the trend list above, they have covered 17 of their last 21 as the visitor. During the losing streak, they were routed by both the Saints (48-27) and Eagles (40-17) in games where they looked like they were just standing around. Denver, which has had to gain 19 yards for every point this season, doesn't figure to be as explosive, unless it's in another sideline blowup with Marshall.
Note that Denver has gone under in ten of its last eleven home games. With Orton a legitimate concern with his ankle, and Simms simply not capable, Denver will have problems scoring points again. We'll move UNDER the total of 42 points as its is posted.
JAY'S PLAY: UNDER 42 ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
