Giants vs. Packers Betting Odds
The Giants vs. Packers betting odds were coming in at Green Bay -7.5 after opening at -9. Claim up to $250 in FREE CASH when you open an online betting account at Sportsbook.com here. In business since 1997.
Sportsbook.com Line: Green Bay -7.5 & 52.5
Opening Line & Total: Packers -9 & 51
The Giants aim for a fourth straight win and a berth in the NFC Championship Game when they visit a 15-1 Packers team that has beaten them twice in the past 13 months.
After nearly ending the Packers’ perfect regular season in Week 13, the Giants get their rematch with Green Bay. That first game was played in New Jersey, and QB Aaron Rodgers moved the ball at will when he needed to. In five playoff games, Rodgers has completed 68% of his passes for 303 YPG and a 112.6 passer rating (13 TD, 3 INT). Eli Manning was picked off four times in his last visit to Green Bay in December 2010, but he beat Brett Favre’s Packers in the 2007 NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field. With last Sunday’s win, Manning is now 5-3 with an 84.9 rating (11 TD, 7 INT) in his postseason career. But the Packers have been the best team in the league the entire season and many of their starters have gotten two weeks of rest to be fresh for this game. They are also 11-2 ATS (85%) versus good offensive teams (>=5.65 yards per play) in the past two seasons.
Manning has been on fire over the past two weeks, completing 47-of-65 passes (72%) for 623 yards, 6 TD and 0 INT. He also lit up the Packers in Week 13 for 347 yards (8.68 YPA), 3 TD and 1 INT. WR Hakeem Nicks was his main man against Atlanta last Sunday, catching five of the nine passes thrown his way and gaining 115 yards and 2 TD, the last one measuring 72 yards. Mario Manningham caught the other touchdown while Victor Cruz was finally held in check (two catches, 28 yards). Cruz finished the regular season with 342 yards and 2 TD in his final two contests, and had a game-high 119 receiving yards in the December meeting with Green Bay. Nicks also scored twice on the Packers secondary in Week 13. The Pack allow the most passing yards in the entire league (300 YPG), a number that has risen to 319 YPG over the past seven games. To be fair, Green Bay rested some of its starters when it surrendered 502 yards in the season-finale win over Detroit.
The Giants had 100 rushing yards on 20 carries in their Week 13 matchup with the Packers, which is more than they usually gain (89 YPG, last in NFL). Brandon Jacobs ran for 59 of those yards on just eight carries (7.4 YPC) and a one-yard touchdown, while Ahmad Bradshaw was limited to 38 yards on 11 attempts (3.5 YPC). Both backs tore up the Falcons last Sunday as Jacobs ran for 92 yards on 14 carries (6.6 YPC) and Bradshaw tallied 63 yards, also on 14 carries (4.5 YPC). Green Bay had allowed seven straight teams to rush for 100 yards before Detroit gained just 73 (4.9 YPC) in the season finale.
Rodgers is coming off perhaps the best season of all-time, setting an NFL record for passer rating (122.5), while throwing for 4,643 yards (310 YPG), 45 TD and 6 INT. He completed 28-of-46 passes for 369 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT in the road win over New York, getting all his receivers in the act. WR Greg Jennings, who is probable with a knee injury, had a touchdown and 94 receiving yards and that day, the same amount of yards as WR Jordy Nelson, who caught all four passes thrown his way. Veteran WR Donald Driver pitched in with two touchdown grabs against the New York secondary, the second one with 3:35 left in regulation, while TE Jermichael Finley finished with six catches for 87 yards. The Giants will have a hard time keeping track of all these weapons, especially because they allowed the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL this year (255 YPG).
The Packers’ rushing attack has been suspect, surpassing 105 yards just once in the season’s final eight games, but RB James Starks (578 rush yds, 4.3 YPC) has had plenty of time for his ankle to heal and he’ll be ready to start on Sunday. In last year’s postseason as a rookie, Starks rushed for 315 yards on 3.9 YPC in the four playoff wins. Ryan Grant (559 rush yds, 4.2 YPC, 2 TD) was injured during last year’s Super Bowl run, and was held to 29 yards on 13 carries in the 2008 NFC Championship loss to New York.
If turnovers decide this game, the edge likely goes to Green Bay, which has a ridiculous +24 turnover margin. New York has a strong +7 TO margin. But the Giants have committed 2+ turnovers eight times this season, while the Packers have just three such games, including zero multi-giveaway outputs in the past 11 games that Rodgers has played in.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
