Detroit Lions vs New York Giants Prediction, 8/8/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week Preseason 1

Game: Detroit Lions at New York Giants 

Date: Thursday, August 8, 2024

Location: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ

TV: NFL+

Odds/Point Spread: Giants (-3)

Total/Over-Under: 36

MetLife Stadium is the location where the New York Giants (6-11 last season) will try to beat the Detroit Lions (12-5 last year) on Thursday. New York opens as 3-point favorites. The total is set at 36.

The Detroit Lions finished the season holding a 12-5 record. The last time they stepped on the gridiron, the Lions played against the 49ers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 34-31. Jared Goff finished 25/41 with 273 yards passing and 1 TD. He had a QB rating of 88.8 and finished the contest with no interceptions. David Montgomery was the rushing leader for the Lions with 15 attempts for 93 yds (6.2 yards per carry). Sam LaPorta left with an average of 10.8 yds per reception by accumulating 97 yds on 9 receptions. The Detroit Lions ran the football 29 different times and recorded 182 yards, which earned them an average of 6.3 yards per attempt. Once the final whistle blew, they tallied 72 plays which gave them 442 yds. Detroit gave up 20 completions on 31 attempts for 258 yds, and a completion rate of 64.5%. Against the rush, the Lions gave up 155 yds on 33 tries, which averages out to 4.7 yds per rush surrendered.

The Lions racked up 6,712 total yards last year. Detroit had 228 1st downs as an offense, and they were called for 97 infractions for 843 yards. Detroit amassed 30 touchdowns via the pass and 27 rushing touchdowns. They turned the ball over 23 different times (12 picks and 11 fumbles). As a team they held an average of 135.9 yds on the ground, giving them a rank of 5th in the NFL. Regarding scoring, the Detroit Lions had an average of 27.1 PPG.

Regarding passing yards, the Lions conceded 4,205 yards which had them ranked 27th in the league. In their 17 games played last season, they conceded 247.4 yards per contest through the air in addition to relinquishing a completion percentage of 63.1%. They allowed 336.1 yards per game which ranked them 19th in the NFL. They allowed an average of 3.7 yards per run and 88.8 rushing yards per game for the previous year. Over the course of last year, they conceded 1,509 rushing yards through 17 outings. The Lions sat in 23rd in the NFL concerning team defense, conceding 23.2 points per game.

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The Giants ended the season having a 6-11 record. When they last stepped on the football field, the Giants walked away with a victory by a final of 27-10 when they played the Eagles. Saquon Barkley carried the football 18 times for 46 yards, ending the contest with 2.6 yards per carry for New York. Wan'Dale Robinson had the best day in terms of receiving for the Giants, snagging 5 footballs for 85 yds (17.0 yds per catch). Tyrod Taylor (1 touchdown) finished the contest with 297 yds on 23/32 passing while his QB rating was 98. He had 1 interception and his avg yards per attempt was 9.3 yds. New York conceded 24 attempts on the ground for 133 yds (5.5 yds per rush). The Giants secondary allowed a completion percentage of 55.6%, surrendering 166 yds on 20 out of 36 through the air. The Giants finished with 415 yds and they ran 66 plays (6.3 yards per play). New York rushed the football for 3.6 yards per attempt, totaling 109 yards on 30 attempts.

The New York Giants had an average of 280.0 yards/game which had them sitting 29th out of all teams in the NFL. They held an average of 110.2 yards per game via the rush and rushed for 1,874 yards overall. They threw 12 interceptions while letting opponents recover 7 fumbles and they tallied 141 first downs. The New York offense compiled 711 yards of penalties on 89 violations, which ranked them 24th in football in terms of helping out the opposition. Last season, the Giants racked up 2,886 yards through the air together with averaging 169.8 passing yards per game, which was ranked 31st out of all NFL teams. When it comes to this team's ability to score points, the Giants had a ranking of 30th in the league holding an average of 15.6 points per game.

The Giants surrendered 23.9 PPG, which had them sitting 26th in football. They surrendered 21 touchdowns via the pass and 229.3 yards/game, ranking them 19th in the NFL. New York surrendered a total of 2,251 yards via the ground game (132.4 yards per contest) and 24 touchdowns by ground last season. The Giants defense took the field for 1,091 plays, which had them ranked 24th in the league. Their defense had 31 turnovers (13 fumbles and 18 picks) for the prior year. Last year, they conceded 407 points in total.

Who will win tonight's Lions/Giants NFL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Lions +3

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