Week 2 of the 2021 NFL season kicks off tonight with a divisional battle between a couple of NFC East teams. The Washington Football Team (0-1) will play host to the New York Giants (0-1) in the second Thursday Night Football game of the year. Considering how the Philadelphia Eagles were the only NFC East team with a victory last week, the pressure is on tonight for one of the competitors to inch close to evening the playing field.
There’s a lot to know heading into tonight’s game, so this betting preview — with odds courtesy of BetOnline — has everything you need to know heading into Thursday Night Football.
Giants vs Washington General Information
Tonight’s matchup will be played at FedExField in Landover, MD — home of the Washington Football Team. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. EST and the game can be viewed on the NFL Network, as well as multiple streaming platforms.
Thursday Night Football: Giants vs Washington Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Thursday, September 16
- New York Giants (0-1) vs Washington Football Team (0-1)
- Moneyline: Giants (+159) vs Washington (-179)
- Spread: Giants +3.5 (-117) vs Washington -3.5 (-103)
- Total: 40.5 — Over (-113), Under (-107)
Complete odds list and prop bets available at BetOnline.ag.
Giants Aiming to Continue Win Streak vs WFT
While the Giants are the +159 betting underdogs entering tonight’s Thursday Night Football matchup, they’ve actually fared well against Washington as of late. New York has defeated WFT in each of their last five meetings and will look to extend that number to six this week.
If the Giants are going to beat their divisional rivals again, they’re going to need to muster up more offense than they did last week. New York lost its season opener to the Denver Broncos, 27-13, and only put up points in the second and fourth quarter. While New York’s 254 passing yards is a decent total, its 60 yards on the ground left a lot to be desired. Things could be even tougher tonight as running back Saquon Barkley is listed as questionable for the game as the Giants go up against a team that held the Los Angeles Chargers to 90 rushing yards last week.
The good news is that the Giants won’t have to play against veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was placed on the injured reserve earlier this week with a hip injury. Instead, fourth-year backup QB Taylor Heinicke will get the Thursday Night Football start. He’s started just once under center in his entire career, so New York needs to use that to its advantage. The game is projected to be a low-scoring one (40.5 points), which means New York’s defense needs to be a lot better than it was last week to keep the Giants in the game.
Thursday Night Football: WFT Enters as Favorite
Even though they lost their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, the Washington Football Team enters tonight as the -179 favorite. It’s been mentioned often by both fans and experts alike, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that Washington has one of the best defenses in the NFL, which will keep them in games even when their offense is struggling.
Washington dropped its opening contest to the Chargers last week in a 20-16 low-scoring affair. Even if WFT’s defense looked good at times, it still surrendered a total of 424 yards by the end of the game. On the other hand, Washington’s offense only generated 259 total yards.
Things should be different this week, especially against a weak Giants defense, however, it’s important to remember that Heinicke is the starting quarterback. The 28-year-old signal-caller has appeared in nine games throughout his career, completing 64.1% of his passing attempts for 589 yards and three touchdowns to three interceptions. He looked decent in relief last week after Fitzpatrick left the game, so there’s a hope that he can perform well as long as the veteran QB is on the IR. The Giants defense is hardly unbeatable after giving up 420 total yards last week, so look for Heinicke to make the most of his opportunity in this primetime game.
