Thursday Night Football kicks off Week 6 of the NFL season with an NFC East showdown featuring the Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants. Philly is favored by 7.5 points tonight with the total at 40.5, down three points from the original offering of 43.5.
Both teams are coming off a loss, but let’s be real – the Eagles are the only team here with any true aspirations to reach the Super Bowl. The Giants lost star WR Malik Nabers (knee) for the season, and now they’re left with a rookie QB/RB combo anchoring an offense that faces the defending champs (coming off a loss) with three full days to prepare.
Philly has wins in seven of its last tries against its division “rival,” and the one misnomer in that span was a Week 17 loss two seasons ago, where key players rested in preparation for the playoffs.
Hey, could the Giants win this game? Sure, and I could hit a 20-leg SGP, but the odds are highly unlikely. The Eagles will have some very favorable advantages tonight, so let’s take a look at how that plays into the best bets from this Thursday Night Football matchup.
What are the Best Bets for the NFL Thursday Night Football Game: Eagles at Giants?
2-Leg SGP: Eagles ML + Saquon Barkley Anytime TD (-105)
I just mentioned the Eagles’ run of dominance against the Giants in the open, so I’m putting that to good use right away on the moneyline with the Birds.
As for Barkley, he’s facing the team that basically told him he was too expensive to play for them. I mean, it’s true, but having Barkley on the Giants is like driving a Ferrari Convertible in Alaska – you’re not getting its best use in that setting.
Nevertheless, Barkley ran wild against the G-Men in his only matchup last season, going for 178 on the ground with a touchdown. You’d be a believer in the laws of revenge in taking this 2-legger tonight; every single person in the Eagles’ organization wants Barkley to find paydirt tonight at MetLife Stadium.
DeVonta Smith: Over 49.5 Receiving Yards (-112)
For a team that usually isn’t in the lead, the Giants are getting absolutely torched through the air this season. New York is allowing the most receptions (14.8), second-most receiving yards (185), and third-most targets (22.6) per game to opposing WRs.
Smith just had an eight-catch, 114-yard performance against a tough Broncos’ defense on Sunday, so I expect Hurts to look his way a few extra times in this short-week affair. The Eagles’ passing attack is struggling, and Smith’s recent form could serve as a security blanket.
If you take out the game against Tampa in Week 4 – a game Philly was leading big early – you’ll see that Smith’s targets have increased gradually each week. It feels like he is becoming Hurts’ favorite target, and this is as good a matchup as he’ll get all season.
Wan’Dale Robinson: Over 45.5 Receiving Yards
If there is any optimism for the Giants tonight, it’s that we’ll likely see plenty of passing plays from their offense. The Eagles are heavy favorites, so Jaxson Dart & Co. will be doing their best to keep pace.
Robinson turned in two big performances against Philly last season, hauling in 16 catches on 20 targets for 66 yards. Yeah, that yardage is certainly low, but we have seen WR1 spots put up some big numbers against the Birds this season – CeeDee Lamb (7-110-0), Puka Nacua (11-112-0), Emeka Egbuka (4-101-1), and Courtland Sutton (8-99-0). Robinson is unarguably the worst of this group, but we’re just asking him to reach half of what the guys before him did.
