Detroit (0-0) at NY Giants (0-0)
When: Thursday, August 8th 2024
Where: MetLife Stadium,
East Rutherford, NJ
Time: 7:00 ET | TV: NFLN
Opening Odds: New York -3/36
Open an account at Bovada to receive a $750 Deposit Bonus! (US Customers Only)
Here we go! The 2024 NFL preseason may have already started with the Hall of Fame Game, but that never finished and resulted in a lot of refunded tickets. The Week 1 slate begins with the Detroit Lions visiting the New York Giants in a game that might have a lot of rain from Tropical Depression Debby. New York is a 3.5-point favorite with a total pegged at 34.5 as of Wednesday afternoon.
Detroit is coming off an incredible season that saw them win a division crown for the first time in 30 years with a 12-5 record. The Lions then won a playoff game at home before narrowly losing the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco. The Giants went 6-11 and showed some regression under head coach Brian Daboll, now entering his third season. Daboll is the only non first-year head coach entering this preseason who has never covered a spread in exhibition games (0-6). Detroit’s Dan Campbell is 4-6-1 ATS in his preseason career, including 2-2 ATS in Week 1.
The Lions enter 2024 at +1200 to win the Super Bowl on the NFL futures board. Detroit is also a +135 favorite to win the NFC North and +550 to win the NFC. As for the Giants? Well, the outlook is bleak. New York has the second-longest Super Bowl odds at +15,000. You can get +180 for them to finish third in the NFC East or -125 to finish fourth.
DETROIT LIONS
The Lions surprised a lot of people last year and are now a trendy pick to win their first ever Super Bowl. Jared Goff and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown were one of the most dangerous combinations in 2023. Goff had a career-best 67.3 completion percentage, while St. Brown set new career-highs with 119 catches for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns. As for this game, you’ll see quarterbacks Hendon Hooker and Nate Sudfeld split time under center. Sudfield played the majority of the snaps when Detroit beat the Giants in Week 1 of the preseason last year. Hooker didn’t see any action last year, but was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.
NEW YORK GIANTS
The biggest off-season loss for the Giants is running back Saquon Barkley, who signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. New York drafted wide receiver Malik Nabers, giving Daniel Jones are potentially dangerous weapon. Nabers was a unanimous All-American and first-team All-SEC in 2023 for LSU. Jones, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, has asked to play in the preseason. He probably won’t play much and we’ll see more of Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito. I’m not expecting much out of the Giants this season, as I mentioned in my NFC East betting preview.
Daboll’s track record in preseason games is horrible. Plus, the Giants are horrible. We won’t see a lot of starters, but I like Hooker and Sudfeld as Detroit’s backups. The Lions won this matchup last August, and I like them getting more than a field goal here in a game that could have sloppy conditions.
Week 1 Preseason Staff Selections
