New York Giants (0-5 SU, 2-3 ATS) vs. Denver Broncos (3-1 SU, 2-1-1 ATS)
Week 6 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday Night Football, October 15, 2017 at 8:30PM EST
Where: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado
TV: NBC
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: NYG +11.5/DEN -11.5
Over/Under Total: 40.5
The New York Giants come to Mile High to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football. Denver enters this game with a 3-1 record. Week five was a bye week for Denver, as they are again home after beating the Raiders here two weeks ago, 16-10. The win atones for their only loss of the season the previous week to Buffalo. They now turn their attention to another NFC East team, as they already smashed Dallas here, when they face the Giants on Sunday night. Things got even worse for the Giants on Sunday, as they fell to 0-5 with a 27-22 loss to the previously-winless Chargers. In addition to losing yet another game, they saw a bunch of injuries that make it hard to forecast anything positive for them in their near-future.
Denver is nice and dug-in at home. It's unusual for a team to not face its second road game until week 7, when Denver starts a run of three road games in three weeks. So they want to make the most of being at home. They were efficient against the Raiders in their last game, with the offense not making mistakes, while riding their defense to the win. It wasn't as impressive as, say, their rout over Dallas, but whenever you beat a division rival that won 12 games last season, it's a positive development. And it was extra-important after a flat performance the previous week.
Denver QB Trevor Siemian is a capable guy. He won't put up big numbers every week, but he's a smart and competent player that paves the way for the defense to do their thing. With the aerial aspect led by Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, along with a nice 1-2 punch with CJ Anderson and Jamaal Charles at running back, he can make things happen and at the very least, keep the defense off the field. We also saw tight end AJ Derby make a big move against the Raiders, with 75 yards receiving and the Broncos' only TD of the game.
Denver's defense is still among the tops in the league. And not enough credit goes to their run-stopping ability, as teams this year have found it difficult running the ball against Denver this season. Up-front, Adam Gotsis, Derek Wolfe, and Domate Peko have been solid. Von Miller on the edge is still a menacing force. And the secondary, led by Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, Jr., Darian Stewart, and Justin Simmons continue to stifle opposing passing-attacks. Through four games, they've given up an average of just 260 yards of total offense per game.
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It's hard to remember a team that so many people picked to be really good just fall on their face. The Giants are 0-5 and face an uncertain future. After revamping their defense the previous season, they added some pieces on offense and everything seemed to line up for perhaps a deep playoff run. Well, the formula has fallen flat. The offense has come up short, while the defense is showing signs of fraying, as they are getting almost no support. And just when it looked like their offense was on the verge of getting it together, they saw bodies dropping left and right on Sunday, with their three top receivers going down—Odell Beckham, Sterling Shepard, and Brandon Marshall. Beckham is now lost for the season.
It's hard to tell if Eli Manning has just lost his mojo and is getting old or if the offensive line can't stop a trickle. The pocket is rarely clean and with Manning not being the most nimble guy, it's been a disaster. Making it worse is that they can't run the ball to save their lives and only the Chargers inept run-defense allowed them to have marginal success on Sunday. This week, it's going to be Eli behind a leaky line with playmakers whose names might not ring a bell. It's not like they were knocking it out of the park at full-power. But if their aerial attack is in fact stripped dry after Sunday's injuries, it's hard to see where the production is going to come from.
The defense is still the better part of the team, but some of the magic from last season has disappeared. They are really laboring against the run and it's just hard for this team to thrive when struggling so mightily on both lines of scrimmage. Jason Pierre Paul is still in there, but missing Olivier Vernon really hurt last week and they hope he's coming back. The second level hasn't really made an impact. An otherwise good secondary with guys like Janoris Jenkins and Eli Apple have been run thin making up for the inadequacies of the front-seven. And having an offense that leaves them gasping for breath hasn't helped either. It's really a long tale of woe at this point for the Giants.
Sometimes, there can be opportunity where there is a very public collapse of a team. Everyone sees the Giants and they see an 0-5 team that has to be in the dumps mentally and now faces a cross-conference matchup in high altitude in Denver after losing the little offensive firepower they had. On the other hand are the rested Broncos coming off a bye week and nice and dug in at home with only one road game this season so far. It paints a stark picture—maybe a little too stark. Still, with the NFL's top-ranked defense, this seems to shake out awfully for the Giants. As much as one might be inclined to pounce on the value, I see them having trouble keeping this one remotely competitive. I'm taking the Broncs.
Loot's Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting on the Denver Broncos minus 11.5 points. Tired of your credit card not working for sportsbook deposit? End that problem today and bet the Giants vs. Broncos game by signing up at Bovada Sportsbook where your credit card WILL work and where you'll receive a generous 50% sign-up bonus!
