NFL Football: New York Giants VS Washington Commanders Prediction, Odds and Preview - 12/18/2022

 

Game Time: 8:20 PM ET,  Sunday, December 18th, 2022

Venue:  FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

Where to Watch: NBC

FanDuel:  Commanders -4.5, O/U 40.5

BetMGM:  Commanders -4.5, O/U 40

PointsBet:  Commanders -4.5, O/U 40.5

Giants: 7-5-1, 4th place NFC East

Commanders: 7-5-1, 3rd place NFC East

An NFC East battle and winner gets the right to crow about being third best in the division.  That’s not a lot to crow about in most divisions, but the NFC East has been loaded with good teams this season.  In fact the best record is the Eagles… a potential playoff favorite is the Dallas Cowboys… while the Giants and Commanders both have winning records… It is the only division in the NFL where all four teams have winning records.  If the NFC East finishes that way?... It will set some kind of record.  The New York Giants have been wilting as of late.  Reigniting all the discussions about whether or not QB Daniel Jones should even be a starting quarterback.  His roster is good, his defense is good… Is he any good?.  The Washington Commanders did a very good job rebuilding a team that was a laughing stock last season… of course they still are a laughing stock because they have the current worst owner in sports…  Daniel Snyder (tough thing to be when James Dolan still owns the Knicks).  This is a guy that should have been dumped years ago by the owner's vote…. Yet he wasn’t and still hasn’t… he sent up smoke signals that maybe he was trying to sell the team.. But insiders believe this is a delaying tactic so he can wait until any controversy from Congressional investigations or City lawsuits die down.  He stinks… his team is OK this year.  The great betting opportunity here is all in the numbers.  Vegas thinks that the Commanders have a 4 point or better advantage depending on which site you bet on…. Let’s check the numbers and figure it out for ourselves.

The New York Giants have sputtered in the last 4 games… losing to Detroit Lions, losing to the Dallas Cowboys, tying these same Washington Commanders and losing to the Eagles.  They played the entire division in the last 3 games and got ZERO wins out of the experience.  In the last game they lost to the Eagles 48-22… a big lopsided loss ATS as well. In that game QB Daniel Jones completed 18 of 27 passes for 169 yards and 1TD… He gave way to backup QB Tyrod Taylor who completed 5 of 5 passes for 47 yards and 1 TD. Taylor also lost a fumble.  The story for the Giants all season long has been RB Saquon Barkley.  They used him and abused him and it is starting to show. Saquon has nagging pain and only had 9 carries for 28 yards… the majority of Giants rushing yards came from Tyrod Taylor (40) and Daniel Jones (26) on QB scrambles… a very ineffective offense… but then the Eagles are a great defense and they still managed 22 points.

The Washington Commanders were on a 3-game winning streak until they tied their last game against the New York Giants… That is right… They played the Giants to a tie… had a late season bye week and will come back to play the Giants again.  The tie was a 20-20 overtime loss ATS. In that game QB Taylor Heinicke completed 27 of 41 passes for 275 yards and 2 TDs.  Taylor has been good for the Commanders this year but he has been filling the spot for QB Carson Wentz who missed time with a finger injury… Both guys should dust off their resumes for the offseason as it is unlikely that the team will not want to keep looking for the real guy. Carson’s status is that he “Could Participate” in Sunday’s game.  That would be nice.  The offense for Washington is simply not the focus… They have a really good defense that is top-ten in every major statistical category… The next step in the rebuilding process should be very easy… improve the offense and this team will win lots and lots of games.

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NYG: 7-5-1, 9-4 ATS, 4-7-1 O/U, 2-2 in road games.

WAS: 7-5-1, 7-5-1 ATS, 4-8-1 O/U, 3-3 in home games.

The Giants are 20th in scoring with 20.5 points per game, 23rd in total yards with 328.1 per game, 28th in passing yards with 180.5 per game, 6th in rushing yards with 147.6 per game.

The Commanders are 25th in scoring with 19.5 points per game, 21st in total yards with 331.5 per game, 23rd in passing yards with 207.1 per game, and 14th in rushing yards with 124.5 per game.

The Giants defense is 26th in defense of total yards with 365.8 allowed per game, 17th in defense of passing yards with 216.1 per game allowed, 29th in defense of rushing yards with 149.7 per game allowed, and 20th in defense of points with 23.1 per game allowed.

The Commanders defense is 4th in defense of total yards with 310.5 per game allowed, 8th in defense of passing yards with 200.1 per game allowed, 9th in defense of rushing yards with 110.4 per game allowed, and 10th in defense of points scored with 19.7 per game allowed.

Our prediction for Sunday, December 18th is…. Commanders 23 - Giants 20

 

Bet on the Giants.  That is right.  These two teams seem separated by a better defense on the Commanders side… and that is great.  But if you bet the Giants you are getting 4 points to put in your pocket…. AND the Giants QB Daniel Jones knows this is the game that will decide whether or not he keeps his job after the upcoming draft. Meanwhile on the other side… they have a rusty Carson Wentz, a gimpy Taylor Heinicke, and a fumbling backup in Tyrod Talor… I would rather have the 4 points… especially since the Commanders just played this same team to a tie.

 

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The Giants are 2-0 ATS versus Washington at Washington the last 3 seasons.

The Commanders are 4-1 ATS as a favorite this season.

The Commanders are 1 Over and 5 Under when the total is between 35.5 to 42 this season.

Giants: QB Daniel Jones, RB Saquon Barkley, WR Isaiah Hodgins, WR Richie James, WR Darius Slayton, TE Daniel Bellinger, LT Andrew Thomas, LG Nick Gates, C Jon Feliciano, RG Mark Glowinski, RT Evan Neal

Commanders: QB Taylor Heinicke OR Carson Wentz, RB Brian Robinson, WR Jahan Dotson, WR Curtis Samuel., WR Terry McLaurin, TE Logan Thomas, LT Charles Leno JR, LG Andrew Norwell, C Tyler Lawson, RG Sam Cosmi, RT Cornelius Lucas

Mostly Sunny, 40*, Humidity 47%, Wind 15 mph… chilly and sunny.  Lots of great late season football fun.