Redskins Giants Spread, Line & NFL Picks
August 28, 2008
Thursday, September 4th the Washington Redskins will visit the New York Giants to kick off the 2008-09 regular season. What better way to start the season then to be able to see the defending champions take on a division rival on a Thursday night game in primetime. The early Redskins Giants spread sees New York as a 3.5 point favorite.
Washington got some bad news last week as their new acquisition Jason Taylor sprained his knee against the Carolina Panthers and might miss his first start since 1999, a streak of 130 straight games. He’s rehabbing the knee though and hopes to be able to take the field to start fresh with his new team. The Giants also lost one of their defensive starts when defensive end Osi Umenyiora went down to a season-ending knee injury suffered in the second quarter of their preseason game against the New York Jets.
Last year the Giants stumbled out of the gates when they lost their first two games, but earned their first victory of the year against Washington in week 3. Last year Washington started out 2-0 but the Giants gave them their first loss. If you are taking New York -3.5 then you are hoping history repeats itself in week 1.
Both of these teams finished their seasons strong, the Giants obviously with winning the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots after battling through a tough road to the NFC Championship. Washington though covered four straight games to end the season before blowing a lead against the Seattle Seahawks in the WildCard round. If you are betting on Washington +3.5 then you are hoping they recapture their regular season magic.
These two teams split both of their contests last year, each winning one game SU and ATS. Both games were played under the total, so with the opening line being set at 41 you might want to take that into consideration.
You have to think that New York is going to be tough to beat again this year as they return every offensive starter from a year ago and almost everyone on defense. The Redskins didn’t lose any starters from last year either so another playoff push should be in the cards for them.
Both of these teams have tough 2008 schedules though which may prevent the teams from achieving the same kinds of successes. Washington has to hit all three divisional rivals on the road during the first six weeks, while the Giants will face six playoff teams from a year ago. Both of these teams are hoping to get off to a fast start with a win here in week 1.
Predicted Score:
Washington Redskins 19
New York Giants 22