New York Giants (2-8 SU, 4-6 ATS) vs. Washington Redskins (4-6 SU, 4-6 ATS)
Week 12 NFL
Date/Time: Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2017 at 8:30PM EST
Where: FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
TV: NBC
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: NYG +7/WAS -7
Over/Under Total: 44
The New York Giants come to FedEx Field for an NFC East battle with the Washington Redskins on Thursday in a Thanksgiving Day special. The Giants were victorious only for the second time of the season on Sunday, scoring an overtime 12-9 win over the favored Kansas City Chiefs. The Redskins should be able to boast of a nice victory on the road against New Orleans, but an epic collapse led to another loss. Ahead 31-16 with less than three minutes left, the Saints somehow managed to get it to overtime before scoring the improbable win—a bad setback for the Redskins. How will these teams do on Thanksgiving coming off the short week after overtime games on Sunday?
Granted, the Saints are on a big old roll and the Redskins weren't expected to beat them at home on Sunday. But they were still up by 15 with time running down and a chance to get their record to .500 with what would have been a galvanizing win. To come up short like that is a major setback. They also lost some valuable personnel, key among the losses being RB Chris Thompson being carted off during the game with a broken fibula. It's really hard to quantify how hard of a loss that was, especially as the Redskins must now turn around and play again on the short week.
The Redskins offense wasn't bad on Sunday, putting the most yards up against the Saints that they've allowed all season. Kirk Cousins was big on the day with 322 yards, three TD passes, and no picks .Josh Doctson had a good day, with Jamison Crowder, Vernon Davis, and Ryan Grant adding good production. Lately, they've seen Samaje Perine start to crank it up out of the backfield and he had his best game as a young pro on Sunday with 117 yards and a TD. Still, late in the game, a conversion of a third-and-one would have likely iced the game and an intentional grounding call on Cousins took them out of FG range. And on offense, they weren't able to take advantage of a Saints' defense that was hobbled and had been leaky the whole game.
The Redskins' defense should be hanging their heads after Sunday's collapse. When you're up 31-16 with less than three minutes left in a game the team really needs, you need to get the job done. If you don't, it makes a mockery of the whole team effort, with guys certainly thinking something to the affect of "What's the point?" Why have a good day and lead a favored team on the road by 15 with 3 minutes left with a chance to go to .500 if you're just going to collapse at the end? The defeat goes beyond the mathematics of it, which now dictates that the Redskins win the rest of their games, But it's a morale thing. And even a Redskins team with a lot of professional pride has to be mentally crushed after Sunday's epic failure.
The Giants have issues of their own—a supposed conference frontrunner that ended up being one of the worst teams in the league this season for a variety of reasons, some which were not in their control. It seemed that the team was starting to pack it in mentally, so maybe a midweek Ben McAdoo pep talk got them on the right track. The Chiefs may be slipping, as this was their 4th loss in 5 games, but it still counts as a meaningful triumph for the Giants and a signal to onlookers that they still have some fire in their bellies.
The game against Kansas City was a defensive grind. After a second-quarter TD run from Giants' RB Orleans Darkwa, the game became a defensive struggle with field goals the only scoring done by both teams. A last-second Kansas City field goal tied the game. In the overtime period, Roger Lewis was on his back and managed to free his arm in time to catch an Eli Manning pass, which set up the game-winning 23-yard field goal. Darkwa ran for 74 yards and has given the Giants a presence in the backfield. Manning wasn't great, but was effective enough with 205 yards, including the big play late that set up the winning score.
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The Giants defense showed some fire on Sunday, finally fulfilling the promise they showed in a big 2016 season. Granted, the Chiefs offense has not been in fine form for the past month or so, but to hold them to three field goals certainly serves as a needed boost in spirits for a defense that has under-performed to a flagrant degree this season. The secondary kept Alex Smith and Company out of the end zone, notching three picks on the day, with Janoris Jenkins playing better and getting a pick, with Landon Collins and DT Damon Harrison each getting interceptions on the day. After giving up a ghastly 82 combined points in their last two games, Sunday was a positive development for a unit that hasn't had many this season.
This is a tough spot for bettors. Just as the story crystallizes that the Redskins must be down in the dumps personnel-wise and mentally after collapsing on Sunday, we look at the team on the other sideline and it's the most-disappointing team in the NFL this season. A win over the Chiefs is nice, but hardly a cause to signal a Giants' revival. It might be a simplistic read, but I don't see Washington bouncing back on the short week well and I'm taking the Giants and the points.
Loot's Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting on the New York Giants plus 7 points. Bet the Giants vs. Redskins game for FREE by taking advantage of a massive 100% sign-up bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 at GTBets!
