New York Giants at Washington Redskins, FedEx Field, Landover, MD
Sunday, January 2, 2011, 4:15 pm EST, TV: FOX
Opening Line: Giants -3.5
Current Line: Giants -4
Opening Total: 45.5
Current Total: 44.5
Money Line: Giants -210 / Redskins +175
The New York Giants (9-6) will be playing for their season and possibly their head coach on Sunday when they visit the Washington Redskins (6-9) in what could be their last game of the year. The Giants (-4) need to beat the Redskins and have Green Bay lose at home to Chicago to get into the playoffs as the last team in the NFC after getting crushed 45-17 by the Packers last week.
There has been speculation that New York head coach Tom Coughlin could be let go if the team does not make it to the postseason, a goal that seemed fairly certain with a 6-2 mark halfway through the season. However, a home loss to Dallas followed by a road loss at Philadelphia made experts start to doubt whether or not the Giants were the best team in the NFC.
A three-game winning streak after that brief two-game skid started to build up some confidence again in the Big Apple, but all of that has been lost over the last couple weeks. Blowing a three-touchdown lead midway through the fourth quarter and losing on the last play of the game to the Eagles two weeks ago was the beginning of what could be the very end after the regular-season finale. To make matters worse, the team will be without top receiver Hakeem Nicks due to a broken toe.
Things have also been far from rosy in Washington, where former starting quarterback Donovan McNabb has been benched down the stretch in favor of Rex Grossman. McNabb is not expected to return to the Redskins next year despite signing a contract extension following their bye and before a humiliating 59-28 loss to his former team Philadelphia in Week 10.
Washington head coach Mike Shanahan has tried to do too much too fast and will no doubt have a rebuilding year ahead of him in 2011. The drama for Shanahan started with former All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth reporting to training camp out of shape and will end with McNabb falling well short of expectations after arriving in an offseason trade with the Eagles.
Grossman has led the Redskins to covers on the road in each of the last two games, and he will be making his first home start in what could be an audition for the starting job next year. That will be a difficult task considering the Giants have won the last five meetings with a 4-0-1 record against the spread. The UNDER has cashed in five of the last seven meetings along with five of Washington’s last six games overall.
Now that you have read this football betting preview featuring the Redskins & Giants, make sure to check out the NFL odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
