After a nice 3-1 showing for our preseason picks, we’ve got another slate of meaningless football action on tap this weekend. I’m looking to roll that momentum forward and keep winning. Every week, I’ll post my top picks on Monday and provide an update before each game — you can check out all of my NFL preseason Week 2 picks here. Let’s dig into today’s Panthers-Giants odds as we make our predictions and pick the best NFL preseason bet! The market has already moved in favor of our top Panthers-Giants pick.
Looking for more 2023 NFL predictions? OddsShopper’s experts are here to break down the upcoming NFL season — make sure to check out the rest of our NFL articles, including our NFC South and NFC East previews. Come back during the NFL season for our market-based betting model’s picks and best bets — or try it out for Week 1 now!
Panthers-Giants Pick & Preseason Prediction
Panthers-Giants Betting Odds
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Panthers: +135 | Giants: -160
Panthers +3: -110 | Giants -3: -110
Over 39.5: -110 | Under 39.5: -110
Panthers-Giants Pick & Prediction
Wow. Thank God we bought the over in the early week column, because this total has moved considerably since then. After opening at 36, this total has been bid all the way up to 39.5. While closing line value (CLV) means a lot less in the preseason than in the regular season, it’s encouraging to see that the books agreed with us enough to move the number so far. Still, it’s possible that they haven’t adjusted the total by a big enough margin — let’s dive right into this one.
We’re playing the over even though the Carolina Panthers came out looking terrible in Week 1. Bryce Young lasted three drives, all of which ended in punts, and two of which were three-and-outs. Carolina’s offensive line got beaten by the New York Jets’ defensive line, and badly. The good news for the Panthers is that the Giants are far, far less deep along the defensive line. While they have several high-quality starters, including Leonard Williams, several backups are injured, leaving them with only four fully healthy reserves at defensive tackle and defensive end.
The New York Giants, meanwhile, scored only 16 points against the Detroit Lions in Week 1. They tallied only 243 yards on 55 plays, good for 4.4 yards per play — not exactly what you want to see. The Giants played their backup, Tyrod Taylor, for only two possessions before handing the reins over to rookie Tommy DeVito for the entire game. DeVito, who probably isn’t challenging for the backup spot, completed 62.5% of his passes for 4.4 NY/A. The Giants don’t have a fourth-string option, so we’re likely to see more of the same come Friday.
What’s most encouraging to me is that both of these defenses struggled in Week 1. The Panthers coughed up 348 yards and 27 points on 68 plays, good for 5.1 yards per play. The Giants allowed 328 yards and 21 points on 69 plays, good for 4.8 yards per play. New York’s pass rush recorded a single sack for a loss of just one yard, which means Young and backup Matt Corral probably won’t face as much pressure in Week 2. Likewise, the Panthers recorded just one sack against the Jets, so Taylor and DeVito probably won’t combine for five sacks again.
Although the Panthers have a new head coach in Frank Reich, he isn’t a first-timer. Reich’s Colts saw their games go over the total for this one (36) in all of their preseason games last year with an average of 47 total points per game. Likewise, Brian Daboll’s Giants beat this number in each of their preseason contests last year while averaging 49.7 total points per game. Although the total is a bit lofty at 39.5, the over still has some value, especially relative to those numbers. I hope that you bought this one early, but if you didn’t, you can still squeeze out some value on this Panthers-Giants bet.
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Panthers-Giants NFL Preseason Pick: Over 39.5 -110 at FanDuel
