Throughout the 2025 NFL season so far, theNew York Giants have not been given the benefit of being a preliminary favorite in any of their games, and that was to be expected for a franchise that was handed the hardest slate in the league with a less talented roster at the onset.
Yet, in conjunction with the belief of select members of the Giants organization, the oddsmakers haven't been evil enough to thrust New York into huge underdog holes against their opponents.
Instead, they have figured that the Giants would hang around with their competition and potentially steal a few games to flip the script on the betting market's behavior.
While most of those games have been decided by a close margin, a familiar pattern keeps repeating itself.
One where the Giants have been able to take an intriguing lead in a handful of their matchups with high-quality foes, only to subsequently collapse down the stretch and end up with the previously projected defeat on their record, which now sits at 2-9 on the season.
Following their latest 27-20 home loss to the Green Bay Packers, in which the team couldn't handle the moment and the aforementioned scenario played out once again, it appears the oddsmakers are not going to give the Giants any credence as a threat in their Week 12 contest.
According to FanDuel's opening lines for Sunday's slate, the Giants are a whopping10.5-point underdog as they travel to the Motor City to face the Detroit Lions in the early window.
The sportsbook has also listed the over/under points total for the affair at 49.5, the highest for a Giants game in the first dozen weeks of the regular season.
Given there are still a few days remaining for both teams to practice for this meeting, it feels like the number is being a little inflated in the Lions' favor.
The Giants have yet to reach a conclusion on quarterback Jaxson Dart's status for the game as he moves through the concussion protocol, and the same goes for a couple of other players the Giants are waiting to get back soon.
Perhaps the potential return of Dart under center, who has made the Giants offense the most respectable it has been in a long time, will shift the betting market's view of the matchup to a lower number before the weekend arrives.
Either way, there is little denying that the Lions will pose one of the toughest offensive challenges that the Giants' beleaguered defense has seen this fall. Led by quarterback Jared Goff's signal-calling and his arsenal of playmakers, Detroit boasts the league'sfourth- and fifth-most productive units in total points and yards, respectively.
Their bigger strength is through the passing attack, where Goff has been graced with three high-volume contributors in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and tight end Sam Laporta, who each have hauled in at least 490 yards and combined for 16 of the Lions' 22 aerial touchdowns, which ranks second among the 32 teams in that span.
On the other hand, it's well documented that the Giants' defense has struggled to tighten up in the biggest moments of their season, with a particular emphasis on their inability to clog rushing lanes and the middle of the field in coverage, preventing huge gains that fuel their opponents' comebacks.
If they don't find the answers to those woes this week, they will run into huge trouble, as the Lions' trio have been among the best skilled players in their respective position groups at winning in separation. The results have produced 32 big-time plays and 1,443 yards after the catch for Detroit, which used to be among the sport's elite at extending drives and earning a top-five red-zone payday rate.
The Giants can't afford to sleep on their rushing game either, as it is spearheaded by a dynamic duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who combine size and speed to do tireless damage in the trenches. Gibbs himself just caps off the top ten ball carriers in the NFL with 732 yards and eight touchdowns, and has already tormented teams four times for over 100 scrimmage yards.
As far as the Lions' defense goes, they excel at a gritty style of play that will make it difficult for the Giants to earn every yard. Detroit currently sits 10th or higher in major ball movement metrics across both phases of the offensive side, and when teams can't find ways to respond, they are swiftly moved off the field on short possessions.
The one area where the Giants might breathe a sigh of relief is that Detroit is within the bottom five franchises inteam pass-rush and run-stop win-rate, which is very surprising since they boast one of the NFL's most gifted edge rushers in Aidan Hutchinson, who holds 7.5 sacks and four forced fumbles on his 2025 resume so far.
That means as long as the Giants can get back on the right track with protecting the football and keeping their pocket clean for whoever is at quarterback, they will have at least a puncher’s chance of offensive success against Detroit’s unit. If they reach the red zone, that is the one spot on the field where the Lions are most generous, with the 25th opponent red zone scoring percentage.
And they certainly will need to score at various points in Sunday’s contest, as the Lions have scored over 30 points in five of their first 10 games and have also covered the 10.5-point opening line in the same number of games.
They can light up the scoreboard with ease against weak defenses and will look to come in hot against an often unprepared Giants squad, as their eyes are set towards the postseason bracket where they are standing just outside the wild card frame.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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