Monday Night Football Preview: NFL WORLD CHAMPS LOOK TO STAY PERFECT
The New York Giants are a perfect 4-0 on the season and 3-1 ATS, and they’re heavy favorites again at Cleveland on Monday Night Football.
It’s time to get excited for this 8:30 pm ET game on ESPN. Early numbers how that 86% of Sportsbook.com members like the Giants giving nine-points while the Over/Under is set at 43. Note the spread originally opened at seven points before jumping up.
The Giants come into this game ranked first in the NFL in total offense spurred by a running game that is averaging over 180 yards a game on the ground. Bruising running back Brandon Jacobs has 380 rushing yards (5.8 yards per carry) and Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw are both averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
Quarterback Eli Manning is playing like a guy coming off a Super Bowl win. His quarterback rating is almost 100 and he has six touchdowns versus just one interception. Combine all this with the third rated defense overall and you have an absolute juggernaut early in the season.
One of the legitimate question marks about this Giants squad is the level of competition they have faced. After opening at home against a solid Washington team, their next three opponents were St. Louis, Cincinnati and Seattle. The combined record of those last three teams is a putrid 1-12.
The Cleveland Browns are 1-4 after being one of the trendy AFC picks to make the playoffs. The defense is ranked in the middle of the pack statistically, but it has been the worst rated offense that’s been the biggest disappointment.
Cleveland is coming off a bye-week and is averaging 11.5 PPG after putting up 25.1 last year. The passing attack has been woeful with quarterback Derek Anderson struggling and the run game hasn’t been too much better.
After hearing all this, it’s hard to believe Cleveland can stay within two touchdowns in this game let alone nine-points. However, if the Browns can run the ball with some success, then they should be able to get the ball to talented receivers Braylon Edwards and Donte Stallworth as well as tight end Kellen Winslow.
Cleveland did play their best game of the year in their last game, beating Cincinnati 20-12. The fans will be going crazy as it’s only their second appearance on MNF since 1995, and they have a chance to cover if the Anderson of last year shows up.
Besides the normal game wagering, we also have our Primetime Props special for this contest. That being, if the first scoring play of the Giants@Browns game is also the first scoring play of the second half, winning “First Scoring Play” props will be doubled for this specific game up to $100.
We also have plenty of props like whether the longest touchdown of the game will be over 41.5 yards or whether Brandon Jacobs will go Over 91.5 yards rushing. The Player to score the 1st TD is also interesting with Jacobs at 4:1, Plaxico Burress at 5:1, Jamal Lewis at 7:1 and Amani Toomer at 8:1.
