After a promising start to the season, the New York Giants are flailing as bad as Odell Beckham Jr. right now. Their two-game road trip through the top of the NFC North lands in Wisconsin for a Week 5 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, where Ben McAdoo will have a bit of a homecoming. McAdoo was an assistant coach with the Packers for eight seasons and knows just how difficult it is for opposing teams to win at Lambeau Field. He’ll get his first crack as a head coach trying to take down his former boss.
This contest in Week 5 of the regular season will go down Sunday, October 9, 2016, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
New York Giants +7.5
Green Bay Packers -7.5
Over/Under 48
Odds Analysis
The Packers have been really good when playing at home following their bye, winning outright the last eight times while going 3-0 ATS in the past three. In those three matchups, the Packers were favored by at least nine points, so this is a close one according to oddsmakers. Green Bay is getting support from the public with a majority of early action going their way, forcing the line to spike a half point from it’s opening. We also saw the total increase to its current number.
Injury Report
Eli Apple – The cornerback missed the Giants last game with a hamstring injury and is questionable to play against the Packers. His presence in the secondary was missed on Monday night when the Vikings hit several big plays against backup Trevin Wade while staying away from Janoris Jenkins on the other side.
Sam Shields – The Packers’ cornerback hasn’t been cleared to play after sustaining a concussion and missing the past two games. The pass defense has struggled without him, surrendering several big plays and more than 307 yards through the air to rank 29th in the league.
Matchup to Watch
The Packers will have Jeff Janis available for pass catching duties after he had his club-like cast removed from his right hand. Janis was ready to build on a fantastic finish to his 2015 season when he caught seven passes for 145 yards in Green Bay’s playoff loss to Arizona. However, a broken bone in his hand during the preseason set him back. Now Janis will fight for playing time in what is a deep and talented group of receivers for Aaron Rodgers to throw to.
The return of Jordy Nelson is the main reason why the group has gotten deeper, but the emergence of Davante Adams along with the improved play of Randall Cobb has several quality receivers fighting for playing time. It’s a good problem for Rodgers and Mike McCarthy to have. It’s strange to see the Packers near the bottom of the league rankings in pass offense, but that’s a number that will change as Rodgers gets acclimated to having his main target back in the mix. The Pack will go against a Giants secondary in flux with corners Apple, Dominique Rodgers Cromartie, and safety Nat Berhe all recovering from injuries.
Free ATS Pick
Many coaches would prefer to have their bye later in the season, but for the Packers the off week couldn’t have come at a better time. Several players, including defenders Morgan Burnett, Clay Matthews, Letroy Guion and Datone Jones returned to practice after missing the previous game and the Green Bay defense is nearly back to full health. Now, the Packers need to work on getting the offense to full capability and the group showed signs in its win over Detroit prior to the bye.
That could continue against the New York secondary that experienced a bad outing in Minnesota on Monday night. The Giants spent several million dollars to upgrade that side of the football and the investment has paid off in the play of Olivier Vernon and Janoris Jenkins. But the lesser-paid members of the group are having a more difficult time. The Giants have a quick turnaround after playing on Monday and hit the road again with a challenge against Green Bay. Eli Manning has had some success against the Pack during his career, and OBJ will control his emotions. However, it won’t be enough for a victory, but seven points is nice to have in your pocket.
NFL Odds: Packers 27, Giants 22
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