giants 49ers betting preview
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The New York Giants enter their Week 3 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers at 0-2. Let’s take a look at the Giants vs. 49ers odds to see how things stack up.

Big Blue has endured a rough start to the 2020 regular season, losing two straight and having star running back Saquon Barkley suffer a torn ACL. Nonetheless, the team will look to bounce back against the 49ers in Week 3.

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Preview

Initially, almost everyone believed this game would be an automatic loss for the Giants. They have one of the worst offenses in the league with a putrid offensive line going up against the defending NFC champions, a squad full of talent.

But now, an automatic loss may not be the case whatsoever.

Although the Giants are dealing with a number of injuries, with Sterling Shepard out for at least the next three weeks and Barkley done for the year, the 49ers have even more health-related setbacks.

San Francisco will be missing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, running backs Tevin Coleman and Raheem Mostert, tight end George Kittle, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and edge rusher Dee Ford. Defensive stars Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman, and Solomon Thomas are additionally on injured reserve.

This Daniel Jones-led Giants offense should be able to put up points against this banged-up Niners defense regardless of the fact that New York is currently last in the league in scoring (14.5 points per game). If the offensive line can just continue to build that chemistry and provide time for Jones in the pocket, the second-year quarterback should be able to effectively utilize Evan Engram and Darius Slayton in the passing game.

Big Blue also signed Devonta Freeman this past week, so expect the Giants to use him as well as veteran running back Dion Lewis within their offensive gameplan.

Giants vs. 49ers odds

Despite the fact that they’re heavily injury-riddled, the 49ers still enter this game as the favorites to emerge victoriously, giving the Giants 3.5 points. Don’t forget, this is still a ball club that made it to the Super Bowl last season and one that employs an intelligent coaching staff led by Kyle Shanahan. San Francisco could still find a way to oust this Giants team any way it can, and this game certainly won’t be a shoo-in victory for Big Blue.

Grab 100-1 odds on any NFL team in Week 3 at DraftKings Sportsbook by clicking right here.

The over-under is currently set at 42.5, a low mark that’s certainly understandable. I would hammer the under in this game, given the state of either offense.

As was mentioned before, the Giants offense is last in the league in scoring, and it must move forward without two of its top weapons in Barkley and Shepard. For the Niners, they’ll be led by backup quarterback Nick Mullens, a fourth-year player who’ll be going up against a relatively strong Giants defense that really came together in the second half against Chicago last week.

New York’s defensive unit is currently fourth in the league in total yards allowed per game, second in passing yards allowed per game, and 11th in scoring. Here’s a look at the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook:

 

Win probability

According to FiveThirtyEight‘s ELO model, the 49ers possess a 66% chance at winning this matchup compared to the Giants’ 34%. It’s reasonable that San Francisco has better odds to win this game than its opponent, but that seems a bit too wide of a spread.

Significant injuries to the 49ers roster should’ve given the Giants a much better shot at emerging victoriously. A 54%-46% spread in favor of the 49ers would’ve been more understandable, but looks like the Giants will just have to step up and prove the model wrong, something they’ve yet to do thus far in 2020.

 

How to watch/listen to Giants-49ers

  • Date: Sunday, Sept. 27
  • Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
  • Location: MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ)
  • TV: FOX
  • Radio: WFAN 660AM/101.9FM (New York), KNBR 680AM/KSAN 107.7FM The Bone (San Francisco)

Why take the Giants?

This Giants team is absolutely hungry for a victory and will come out motivated to win even without its best player. Don’t forget, while not fantastic, this offensive line improved slightly against the Bears in comparison to its performance against the Steelers in Week 1. If the line can just continue to build that chemistry, Jones should be able to have a big day against this injury-riddled 49ers defense, a unit that’ll be playing with a number of backups across the board.

The Giants defense shouldn’t have any issue shutting down Mullens and 49ers backup running back Jerick McKinnon either. It’s been a relatively strong unit thus far and going up against this Niners offense shouldn’t be that significant of a task.

If the Giants can avoid mental mistakes on either side of the ball, they’ll be able to emerge victoriously or at least just cover the 3.5-point spread.

Why take the 49ers?

Again, this is still very much a well-run franchise with a magnificent coaching staff that’ll have this 49ers team ready for anything, regardless of who’s playing. Despite the injuries, facing this Giants offense shouldn’t be all that difficult especially considering it contains no stars. Saquon is really the only star the Giants employ, but now he’s gone for the remainder of the 2020 campaign.

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If the 49ers can just utilize the pass rush effectively and efficiently, they should force Jones to make mistakes, which he’s done thus far on the year (four turnovers in two games). This, in turn, will make it extremely difficult for the Giants offensive unit to get into a rhythm, an issue they’ve already been dealing with this season.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Niners will need to run the ball effectively on every drive. If they can put together long possessions doing so, they’ll be able to utilize the play-action to an extent and tire-out this Giants defense.

Again, this isn’t the Cincinnati Bengals or New York Jets we’re talking about. This is still the San Francisco 49ers, the same ballclub that was just in a Super Bowl almost eight months ago. They should still find a way to win and cover against a Giants team that lacks significant talent.

Grab 100-1 odds on any NFL team in Week 3 at DraftKings Sportsbook by clicking right here.

Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.