The Detroit Lions will travel to East Rutherford, New Jersey, to face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in week 1 of the 2024 NFL Preseason, with the game scheduled to start at 7:00 PM ET on Thursday night.
Both teams had vastly different results in the 2023 NFL season. The Detroit Lions made the NFC Championship game and nearly made it to the Super Bowl last season as they had a 24-7 at halftime of the NFC Championship game.
However, they would be outscored by the 49ers 7-27 in the 2nd half to lose the game 31-34. After arguably their best season in team history in the Super Bowl era, the Detroit Lions enter the season with high expectations. They have an over/under win total of 10.5 games and are the favorites to win the NFC North at -101.
The Lions had won their first division championship since the 1993 NFL season when they played in the NFC Central, and Barry Sanders was still in the NFL. Detroit was also one of the best teams at covering the spread last season, as they finished the regular season 12-5 ATS in the regular season and were 8-2 ATS on the road. Jared Goff is unlikely to play in the first preseason game.
Instead, Nate Sudfeld and Hendon Hooker will be the leading quarterbacks in the game against the Carolina Panthers, with Sudfeld being the more experienced quarterback as Hooker has yet to take a snap in the NFL after missing his rookie season.
Unlike the Detroit Lions, the New York Giants, after making the playoffs in the 2022 NFL season, failed to make the playoffs in the 2024 NFL season after finishing in 3rd place in the NFC East with a record of 6-11. Daniel Jones also missed most of last season with an injury that led to a down year for the Giants.
However, Jones is back in what will likely be a make-or-break season for the quarterback. The Giants surrounded Jones with an upgraded offensive line and another playmaker at receiver after drafting Malik Nabers in the 1st round. The Giants have arguably the best depth they've had at quarterback as they signed Drew Lock to serve as the backup to Daniel Jones and have Tommy DeVito back after a decent rookie season last year, which will give the advantage to New York in the majority of their preseason games this season.
Even though they finished the season five games under.500, New York finished .500 ATS with a record of 8-8-1 overall and had one of the best ATS at home at 5-2-1 in their home games last season.
The Detroit Lions are on a three-game winning streak in the series and have won by an average margin of 10.67 points per game while covering the spread in two of the three matchups. The Lions have also won six of the last ten and four of the previous six road games in the series while covering the spread in five matchups.
Detroit was one of the best teams at covering the spread on the road last season as they went 8-2 ATS on the road and have covered the spread in 10 of their last 12 road games. The Lions have also won four of the previous six road games in the series and have covered the spread in five of those six matchups.
I look for that trend to continue when these two teams square off on Thursday night, so I am buying the .5 point and taking the 4 points when the Detroit Lions travel to face the New York Giants in their first preseason game this season.
