by Team Del Genio
Wednesday, Sep 23, 2026Team Del Genio is a small collection of sports handicappers who were previously trained and mentored by Lenny Del Genio. After heading the sportsbook operations at the Frontier and then later at Bally’s, Lenny moved to the other side of the window when he started his sports handicapping service, where he later mentored the next generation of handicappers. By maintaining the perspective of the oddsmakers, Team Del Genio represents a consensus service of a small group of handicappers that Lenny personally trained. This oddsmakers' perspective in handicapping the NFL was very important when assessing the Los Angeles Rams playing at home against the New York Giants for Monday Night Football in the second week of the season.
The Los Angeles Rams were the preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl. They traded for Myles Garrett, acquired the cornerback duo from the Kansas City Chiefs, and then convinced future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald to come out of retirement and return to the club. Yet they looked flat and uninspired in their opening week loss against San Francisco, 27-7. In hindsight, it looks like head coach Sean McVay decided not to let the physically demanding trip to Australia, where this game was played in Melbourne, negatively impact the team afterwards. While the 49ers had arrived for the game a week ahead of time to get acclimated to the long plane ride and time zone change, McVay had his team fly in the day before and not even try to get his team to adjust to the time zone. While that may have played a role in their disappointing effort, they should come into this game rested and ready.
Many oddsmakers, including DraftKings, installed the Rams as the favorite to win the Super Bowl before the season started at +500 odds. The oddsmakers initially installed Los Angeles as an 8.5-point favorite tonight despite not playing well last week. Teams that were preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl at a +500 price who lost their opening game, yet the oddsmakers installed them as a favorite of 7 or more points, have a 73-59-2 against the spread record.
Wide receiver Puka Nacua was dealing with a groin injury that had him questionable to play. It was reported that he is trending in the wrong direction, which probably explains why the market has pushed the line down to -6.5 in some spots.
McVay had to deal with Nacua or wide receiver Davanta Adams missing games last year. At one point, he was forced to use three tight ends on the field given injuries at the wide receiver position, and he discovered that this formation led to several matchup advantages. The team drafted Ohio State tight end Max Klare and Miami (FL) tight end C.J. Daniels to make even better use of three tight ends on the field. With Colby Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson, McVay thinks he has four tight ends on the roster that can catch passes and help them in heavier sets for their rushing attack. We expected the Rams offense would be fine both running the ball and in their passing attack with the tight ends and a healthy Adams amongst other wide receivers like Xavier Smith.
On defense, the team was going to be without Myles Garrett, who ws dealing with an injury. Yet after not taking the trip to Australia, defensive tackle Aaron Donald was expected to make his season debut tonight. While it was yet to be determined if he will immediately be back to the level he was when he last played in the 2023-24 season, his physical presence is so imposing that he still may demand double-teaming. McVay has been excellent at getting his team ready to play off losses. Los Angeles had a 33-20-3 against the spread record in his head coaching career following a loss in their previous game, and they have covered the point spread in seven of their previous eight games following a loss.
The New York Giants seemed to be immediately better last week under new head coach John Harbaugh. In their 28-20 upset victory at home against Dallas as a 3.5-point underdog, they gained 394 yards and had the ball on offense for just 37 minutes. Yet the Giants have covered the point spread only once in their previous four games after pulling off an upset victory. Playing at home helped last week, with an energetic crowd for Sunday Night Football excited to begin the Harbaugh era. Now they hit the road, where they have covered the point spread in just four of their previous twelve games against NFC opponents. Jaxson Dart played well by completing 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Yet that was against the Cowboys' defense. While that Dallas unit should be better this year, the Rams defense is expected to be one of the top three groups in the NFL. Dart experienced some problems with his decision-making and playing under center rather than the shotgun, which the veteran Rams defense should exploit. Wide receiver Malik Nabers returned from his long recovery from ACL surgery. While he helped the offense by simply being on the field, he was not as dynamic as he was pre-injury, as he hopes to regain confidence in his leg. The defense may be without cornerback Deonte Banks and linebacker Micah McFadden, who are both dealing with injuries.
Harbaugh may be one of the best head coaches in the game, yet he is not a miracle worker. After a 4-13 record last year, the Giants have lost ten or more games in ten of the previous twelve seasons. The Giants traded away defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. After upsetting the Cowboys last week, it was a good opportunity to sell high on Harbaugh and New York while buying the Rams at probably the lowest point in their value with the betting public all season. The Rams were our NFL Monday Night TV Game of the Month.
Los Angeles dominated the game in a 28-6 victory. They gained 481 yards and went into halftime with a 14-3 lead. Dart got injured and left the game in the 1st Half. New York only gained 182 yards in the game, with backup quarterback Jameis Winston struggling. The oddsmakers had this one right (and so did we. Thanks, Lenny!).
Good luck - TDG.
The Los Angeles Rams were the preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl. They traded for Myles Garrett, acquired the cornerback duo from the Kansas City Chiefs, and then convinced future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald to come out of retirement and return to the club. Yet they looked flat and uninspired in their opening week loss against San Francisco, 27-7. In hindsight, it looks like head coach Sean McVay decided not to let the physically demanding trip to Australia, where this game was played in Melbourne, negatively impact the team afterwards. While the 49ers had arrived for the game a week ahead of time to get acclimated to the long plane ride and time zone change, McVay had his team fly in the day before and not even try to get his team to adjust to the time zone. While that may have played a role in their disappointing effort, they should come into this game rested and ready.
Many oddsmakers, including DraftKings, installed the Rams as the favorite to win the Super Bowl before the season started at +500 odds. The oddsmakers initially installed Los Angeles as an 8.5-point favorite tonight despite not playing well last week. Teams that were preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl at a +500 price who lost their opening game, yet the oddsmakers installed them as a favorite of 7 or more points, have a 73-59-2 against the spread record.
Wide receiver Puka Nacua was dealing with a groin injury that had him questionable to play. It was reported that he is trending in the wrong direction, which probably explains why the market has pushed the line down to -6.5 in some spots.
McVay had to deal with Nacua or wide receiver Davanta Adams missing games last year. At one point, he was forced to use three tight ends on the field given injuries at the wide receiver position, and he discovered that this formation led to several matchup advantages. The team drafted Ohio State tight end Max Klare and Miami (FL) tight end C.J. Daniels to make even better use of three tight ends on the field. With Colby Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson, McVay thinks he has four tight ends on the roster that can catch passes and help them in heavier sets for their rushing attack. We expected the Rams offense would be fine both running the ball and in their passing attack with the tight ends and a healthy Adams amongst other wide receivers like Xavier Smith.
On defense, the team was going to be without Myles Garrett, who ws dealing with an injury. Yet after not taking the trip to Australia, defensive tackle Aaron Donald was expected to make his season debut tonight. While it was yet to be determined if he will immediately be back to the level he was when he last played in the 2023-24 season, his physical presence is so imposing that he still may demand double-teaming. McVay has been excellent at getting his team ready to play off losses. Los Angeles had a 33-20-3 against the spread record in his head coaching career following a loss in their previous game, and they have covered the point spread in seven of their previous eight games following a loss.
The New York Giants seemed to be immediately better last week under new head coach John Harbaugh. In their 28-20 upset victory at home against Dallas as a 3.5-point underdog, they gained 394 yards and had the ball on offense for just 37 minutes. Yet the Giants have covered the point spread only once in their previous four games after pulling off an upset victory. Playing at home helped last week, with an energetic crowd for Sunday Night Football excited to begin the Harbaugh era. Now they hit the road, where they have covered the point spread in just four of their previous twelve games against NFC opponents. Jaxson Dart played well by completing 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Yet that was against the Cowboys' defense. While that Dallas unit should be better this year, the Rams defense is expected to be one of the top three groups in the NFL. Dart experienced some problems with his decision-making and playing under center rather than the shotgun, which the veteran Rams defense should exploit. Wide receiver Malik Nabers returned from his long recovery from ACL surgery. While he helped the offense by simply being on the field, he was not as dynamic as he was pre-injury, as he hopes to regain confidence in his leg. The defense may be without cornerback Deonte Banks and linebacker Micah McFadden, who are both dealing with injuries.
Harbaugh may be one of the best head coaches in the game, yet he is not a miracle worker. After a 4-13 record last year, the Giants have lost ten or more games in ten of the previous twelve seasons. The Giants traded away defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. After upsetting the Cowboys last week, it was a good opportunity to sell high on Harbaugh and New York while buying the Rams at probably the lowest point in their value with the betting public all season. The Rams were our NFL Monday Night TV Game of the Month.
Los Angeles dominated the game in a 28-6 victory. They gained 481 yards and went into halftime with a 14-3 lead. Dart got injured and left the game in the 1st Half. New York only gained 182 yards in the game, with backup quarterback Jameis Winston struggling. The oddsmakers had this one right (and so did we. Thanks, Lenny!).
Good luck - TDG.
