Giants Vs. Lions First Look: Giants Open As 5-Point Favorites

The New York Giants (0-1) opened as 5-point favorites for their home opener on Monday night against the 1-0 Detroit Lions. The game, though, is hardly a gimme for the Giants.

First, there is the reality that you have to score points to win games. Three points, like the Giants scored against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, isn’t going to cut it. That wasn’t an aberration, either. It was the seventh straight time the Giants failed to reach the 20-point mark — an astonishing amount of ineptitude in a league where the rules make everything easier for the offense.

The Lions, incidentally, put up 35 points in a season-opening victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Then, there is the question about whether Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) will be able to play Monday night. He’s not a cure-all for everything wrong with the Giants’ offense. He is, though, their best player and he would obviously help.

Next, there is the question about right tackle Bobby Hart. If his ankle injury is enough to keep him out against the Lions, and on Monday coach Ben McAdoo really didn’t know the severity, who plays that spot?

Finally, the Lions are a pretty good team. They went 9-7 last year and made the playoffs. Like the Giants, they lost their wild-card round game, falling to the Seattle Seahawks.

This is a game the Giants really need to win. Since 1990, roughly only 12 percent of teams beginning the season 0-2 have made the playoffs.

Keep it here as we get you ready for Monday.