If you survived arguing relatives, undercooked poultry and and your fourth round of pumpkin pie, sit back, relax and enjoy a final helping of Thanksgiving NFL football when the New York Giants (2-8) take on the Washington Redskins (4-6) at FedEx Field.
This game will be brought to you by the fine folks at NBC and their Sunday Night Football crew at 8:30 p.m. EST.
The Game: New York Giants at Washington Redskins (-7.5)
O/U: 44.5
The History
The Giants and Redskins have played 170 times since 1932 with New York holding a 99-67-4 advantage in the all time series.
From December 2013 to September, 2015 the Giants won five consecutive games over Washington.
NEW YORK GIANTS (2-8)
A few days after all but predicting a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday, Ben McAdoo went out and delivered it for the New York Giants. The G-Men took down the Chiefs in a hideous 12-9 win at MetLife Stadium that probably killed any survivor pool left in America.
Let’s look at the positives. The first thing that jumps off the page is another decent outing running the ball by Orleans Darkwa. He had 20 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown. The second piece of decency we can look at is that Eli Manning, in spite of having no quality offensive weapons on the field, managed to not turn the ball over. He was 19 of 35 for 205 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
But this game was all about the performance of the Giants’ defense. They sacked Alex Smith once, picked him off twice and also intercepted a stupid trick play pass from tight end Travis Kelce. They just got two stops in the backfield, but in spite of letting the Chiefs hold the ball for 37:16 minutes, gave up just 3-of-11 on third downs and kept Kansas City out of the end zone. Kareem Hunt was held below 100 total yards and that’s not happened very often this year.
D.J. Fluker, B.J. Goodson and Justin Pugh are all still out. Calvin Munson is doubtful. Most importantly, wide receiver Sterling Shepard is dealing with a migraine issue and is questionable. He hasn’t practiced for the last two days.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS (4-6)
Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat, Jordan Reed isn’t going to play. Again. I’ve said for the last couple of weeks that the Redskins just need to shut Reed down this season and let him finally get healthy for good (hopefully). His body just keeps breaking down and this season is already over for Washington, even if they don’t want to believe it.
Not only is Reed out again, center Chase Roullier, safety Montae Nicholson and defensive lineman Terrell McClain will all be in sweats as well. Linebacker Martrell Spaight and offensive tackle Trent Williams are both listed as questionable, but neither guy practiced this week. With Williams, it could be more about resting his knee than anything that keeps him out of a game.
The Redskins gave it the old college try last Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, falling in a shootout, 34-31, in overtime. Kirk Cousins was 22 of 32 for 322 yards and three touchdowns. Samaje Perine carried the ball 23 times for 117 yards and a touchdown. Josh Doctson is finally consistently showing up on the stat sheet, catching four passes for 81 yards.
While the defense was carved up by Drew Brees to the tune of 385 yards, they did pick him off once, sack him twice and get six stops in the backfield.
The Pick
I don’t care that the Giants got a freak win over the Chiefs last week. If anything, that shame and stink is all over Kansas City and it’s one they’ll have to knock off all on their own. Washington has battled and lost in a lot of close games this season. They’re better than their record and with some better luck, they’d still be in the playoff mix. Redskins 27, Giants 16
Last week
Straight up: 5-8
Against the spread: 4-9
Season
Straight up: 92-67
Against the spread: 79-79
To make a wager on any sport, go to the world famous Diamond Sportsbook by clicking here.
