The new NFL season continues with Week 1 games on Sunday, September 11, and we have an intriguing inter-conference clash in Nashville, TN, so check out the best Giants vs. Titans betting pick and odds.
New York and Tennessee will play their first game in the new NFL season when they face at Nissan Stadium. The Titans are -5.5 favorites on BetMGM NY Sportsbook, while the total is set at 44 points. These inter-conference rivals haven’t met since 2018.
Giants are hoping to break the first-game curse
The New York Giants opened the season with a 0-2 record in each of the last five years and are 0-5-1 ATS in their previous six season-opening games. They would like that to change in the opening tilt of a new NFL campaign, but the G-Men are the underdogs in Nashville against the Titans.
New York is going through the rebuild with new head coach Brian Daboll, who was a part of the New England Patriots in 2001 when Tennessee’s head coach Mike Vrabel played as an outside linebacker. Daboll made the Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen a prominent rusher while he was an offensive coordinator in Buffalo. He is trying to do the same with Daniel Jones, who surely has the athleticism to become a solid rusher.
Running back Saquon Barkley is hoping to have an injury-free season after appearing in only 13 games last year and recording 593 rushing yards. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will try to exploit the fact that the Titans are playing without star pass rusher Harold Landry. Still, the Giants also have injury-related worries. They have even 13 players either ruled out or in doubt for Sunday’s tilt. Linebackers Azeez Ojulari (calf) and Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee) are among those who are listed as doubtful.
Titans to play the season without Harold Landry
The Tennessee Titans lost one of their best defensive players to an ACL injury during practice last week. Harold Landry had a monster season last year and registered 12 sacks, 49 QB pressures, and 22 QB hits, the numbers that helped him land a new five-year contract worth $87.5 million back in March this year. Without Landry, the Titans’ defense will be under a lot of pressure; his backup Rashad Weaver still needs time to adapt to the system.
Tennessee likes utilizing play-action without demanding too much from quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill will have wide receivers Robert Woods and rookie Treylon Burks, as well as tight end Austin Hooper to connect with through the air. Derrick Henry is one of the most powerful running backs in the NFL, and he’ll be used a lot in this one. He was limited to eight games last year due to injury but averaged 117.1 rushing yards per game.
Trends:
New York:
0-6 ATS in the last six games overall0-5 ATS in the last five road games0-6 ATS in the last six games as an underdog
Tennessee:
N/A
New York Giants vs. Tennessee Titans Pick
Derrick Henry is going to have the ball in his hands a lot on Sunday. I expect him to move the chains, but I also expect plenty of play-action calls from Tennessee’s OC Todd Downing as he knows Ryan Tannehill is capable of making something out of nothing. Although the Giants look better than in 2021, they are still far from being a team able to compete with contenders. The Titans were second in the NFL in rushing defense (84.6 yards per game) last season, and they have the strength to limit Saquon Barkley.
Pick: Take the Titans at -5.5 (-110)
The Total
There is no doubt the Giants’ offense improved, but Tennessee still has one of the best defensive teams in the league. Also, the hosts will milk a lot of time out of the clock with Henry’s rushing attempts and will definitely have more of a ball in possession. Everything is suggesting we’re going to have a low-scoring affair.
Under is 21-6-1 in the Giants’ last 28 games overall, while Under is 19-7-1 in New York’s previous 27 games as an underdog. Also, Under is 5-1 in the Titans’ last six games overall, while Under is 5-0 in Tennessee’s previous five home games.
Pick: Go Under 44 points (-110)
