Broncos @ Giants: “Manning Bowl” Preview

We have all ready had a couple different previews of this much-hyped game that may has been presented as a gimmick.   We are going to look at this game from a betting stand point and push the idea of this being the “Manning Bowl” to the side.

We all know they are brothers which really should not be the main focus of this game.  Admittedly, it makes the game easier to sell if you bill it as a Manning vs. Manning game.  What is more important, though, is this is the Denver Broncos vs. the New York Giants.

We are only in Week 2 and, like always, sports analysts and fans are both overreacting to every win and loss thus far.  However, when people say that this game against the Broncos is a must-win for the Giants, it may only be slight hyperbole.

The Giants lost in Week 1 to the Dallas Cowboys.  Neither team looked particularly remarkable.  A lot of turnovers on both sides of the ball.  Worth noting, though, was the Giants secondary defense, or lack thereof.  The Giants undoubtedly feel they need to beat somebody in order to prove to the world they are still Super Bowl contenders.  The Broncos, who dominated the defending Super Bowl Champions in Week 1, would be a nice win to put under the Giants belt.

Is it an absolute must win, though?

Not quite, it is not like the Giants have not battled back from behind before to get into the playoffs or even make Super Bowl runs, as in 2007.

The key for the Giants to win this game will be to set the tempo offensively, which should be an easy task for an Eli Manning playing top notch, and find a way to slow down Peyton Manning.  I say slow down, because they are not going to shut down Peyton.  The Giants secondary is going to have to find a way to pull themselves together, otherwise Peyton is going to be passing it their way with success all day.

It will be interesting to see if the Broncos can develop a run game in Week 2 when they were unsuccessful running the ball in Week 1.  If not, Peyton will likely have to make up for it again, maybe not with seven TD passes, but will have to do something similarly extraordinary considering the team’s lack of run game.

Defensively, the Broncos will want to hold off the Giants offense by keeping pressure on Eli and covering the very talented New York receivers.

The Broncos are the favorites to win with a -4.5 point spread.  The money line to bet on the Broncos is at -2oo compared to the Giants +170 money line.  The over/under is 54 points.  The game starts at 4:25 p.m. ET, and you can catch it locally on CBS.