Lines, Odds, Picks and Previews |
The New York Giants will look to punch a ticket to the NFC Championship Game when they face the No.1 seed Green Bay Packers this Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. The game is scheduled to get underway 4:30 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
After a 23-10 loss to Washington in Week 15, New York was all but left for dead for the season, but victories over the Jets and Cowboys to close-out the regular season followed by an impressive 24-2 romp over Atlanta as a three-point home favorite in last Sunday’s Wildcard Round has this team very much alive. The Giants are now 10-7 straight-up and 9-7-1 against the spread. They went 5-3 both SU and ATS on the road this season and the total is an even 8-8-1 in their 17 games.
Against the Falcons, New York returned to the formula of pounding the ball on offense behind Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw and getting after the quarterback with just their front four. Throw in Eli Manning completing over 70 percent of his passes for close to 300 yards and three touchdowns and you have a very dangerous team heading into Sunday’s game.
Green Bay cruised to a 14-1 SU record in the regular season and was 11-5 ATS. It was a perfect 8-0 SU at home and a highly profitable 7-1 ATS. The total went ‘over’ in 11 of its 16 games this season overall and in seven of eight at home.
The Packers should be able to put points on the board against the Giants behind Aaron Rodgers and a passing attack that averaged 307.8 yards a game and an offense that led the league in scoring. The question is can their defense keep New York from scoring more? This unit finished the regular season ranked dead-last in the NFL against the pass and in total yards allowed.
New York is 5-1 ATS in its last six games overall and 6-0 ATS in its last six playoff games on the road. The total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of its last eight playoff games.
Green Bay is 5-1-1 ATS in its last seven Divisional Round playoff games and 4-0 ATS in its last four playoff games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of its last five playoff games at home.
Head-to-head in this series, the underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings and the road team is 5-2 ATS in the last seven. The Packers outlasted the Giants 38-35 in Week 13 as seven-point road favorites and the total went ‘over’ the 53.5-point line. It has now gone ‘over’ in the last four meetings.
You can expect more of the same this time around as Green Bay escapes with a win in another close one that goes ‘over’ the total.
The Pick: Green Bay 31 New York 28
