Giants Heavily Favored by NFL Forecasters to Top Panthers, But Is It Justified?

For the first time this season, forecasters have the New York Giants favored going into an NFL game by a wide margin.

New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) breaks a tackle from Washington Commanders cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (1) during a game between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the first time this season, the New York Giants are the popular betting expert choice to beat the point spread and the over/under. 

Based on data from NFLPickwatch.com, 87% of the experts favor the Giants to cover the point spread, which, per FanDuel, is 6.5 in the Giants’ favor. This is among the most one-sided forecasts of the forecasters surveyed this week. 

In addition, 60% of the experts who weighed in are going with the over, which per Fan Duel is at 40.5.

The Panthers announced this week that Bryce Young will get the start as quarterback against the Giants, whom they face in Munich, Germany. Young and the Paters are coming off an inspiring win last week against the Saints, and head coach Dave Canales, after weighing his options between Young and veteran Andy Dalton, opted to go with the former.

Young, who has a 3-17 record as a starter and who is 1-3 this season, was benched after Week 2 when the Panthers generated only 13 points through eight quarters of football. They lost the season opener at New Orleans 47-10. They then lost to the Los Angeles Chargers 26-3 in their home opener.

The Panthers have scored 20 or more points in only four of their nine games this season.

The Giants have not fared much better offensively. They have scored 139 points in nine games and are currently in a four-game losing streak. Over that stretch, they have averaged 12.5 points per game, their season average being 15.4 points per game, which is slightly worse than last year’s 15.6 total.

The Giants lost their season-opening 28-6 game against Minnesota. They have also scored under 10 points in two of their last three home games, a 28-3 loss to Philadelphia and a 17-7 loss to Cincinnati.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, potentially facing a benching, has thrown for only eight touchdowns in nine games. He had two last week in the 27-22 loss to Washington. 

The Giants are currently ranked dead last in the league in red-zone conversion attempts (40%), whereas Carolina is tied for eighth in such attempts (63.64%). The Giants are ranked 22nd on third-down conversions (36.22%), and the Panthers are ranked 29th (32.38%).  

Both offenses are also ranked toward the bottom of the league in explosive pass plays of 20+ yards, the Panthers with a league-worst 31 and the Giants ranking 26th with 44 big-pass plays.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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