NFL Week 2: Monday Night Football Best Bet and Preview

Giants at Rams

Our Best Bets had a rough go yesterday. All of them were misses and Alec Pierce’s bet got refunded. Tonight, we need to get a win. We have the Giants and Rams playing on Monday Night Football to end Week 2. I have gone through the available bets and picked the one that I believe will hit. Let’s make some money!

Best Bet: Cam Skattebo Rush Yards over 52.5

Game Odds

The Public Numbers

The Rams are a 6.5 favorite in this game and the points total is set at 47.5. The public is betting heavily on the Rams to win outright with 86% of the bets and 63% of the money being placed on them to win. The expectation seems to be that it will be a close game with 57% of the bets and 59% of the money being placed on the Giants +6.5. The percentages are pretty evenly split on the points total with 52% of the bets and 56% of the money being placed on the over.

Match-up Overview

These teams have faced each other 47 times with the Rams holding the series lead 30-17. The most recent game was on December 31st, 2023 and was a 26-25 Rams victory.

The Giants are coming off of a Week 1 victory over the Cowboys. The Giants dominated in the trenches and established the new identify that John Harbaugh worked to implement this offseason. They were able to impose their will on the Cowboys by establishing the run and managing the clock. They relied heavily on their run game and totaled 165 yards behind Cam Skattebo, Jaxson Dart, and Devin Singletary. A key piece of the run game was fullback pat Ricard who helped open running lanes for his backs. The run game helped set up the play action pass game and allowed Jaxson Dart to have one of his most efficient games of his young career. Dart went 23/29 for 230 yards and 3 TDs. His favorite target was new tight end, Isiah Liekly, who had 8 receptions for 79 yards, and 2 TDs. They will have a favorable matchup if the Rams play the way they did last week. They struggled against the run and are dealing with some key injuries that don’t bode well for this matchup.

The Giants defense was solid but definitely helped out by the performance of the offense. They allowed the Cowboys to only have the ball twice in the second half and they allowed touchdowns on both drives. However, they were stout against the run, allowing just 69 yards and performed okay against the pass, allowing 175 yards. They are dealing with several injuries in the secondary, which does not look good as they matchup against one of the best pass games in the NFL.

The Rams are looking to shake off the rust from their first week. They traveled to Australia and looked like they never got off the plane. They lost to the 49ers 27-7. They looked sluggish and never got anything going on offense. Stafford was 15/25 for 155 yards and no TDs. His leading receiver was Puka Nacua, who had 74 yards. Nacua is trending towards missing this game. That means that Davante Adams is poised to be WR1 against a very thin Giants secondary. The run game was not that effective for the Rams, but they have two backs that they like to use in Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. They will be facing a Giants front that is bursting with talent and will be difficult to move the ball against.

The Rams defense will be without Myles Garrett tonight. Garrett landed on the IR after needing a knee procedure. However, they will get Aaron Donald back from retirement tonight. It remains to be seen how big of a role Donald will play but the future Hall of Famer should not be overlooked. The defense as a whole need to improve based on their performance last week. They got run over by the 49ers last week to the tune of 174 yards. They allowed 205 pass yards as well. They will have their hands full with this Giants run game.

Injuries

Giants

Deonte Banks (CB) – Questionable
Paulsen Adebo (CB) – IR
Micah McFadden (LB) – Questionable

Rams

Puka Nacua (WR) – Questionable
Kamren Kinchens (S) – Out
Joradn Whittington (WR) – Doubtful
Myles Garrett (DE) – IR

Best Bet Background – Cam Skattebo Rush Yards over 52.5

We are going back to the well for this one. Skattebo ran for 81 yards last week against the Cowboys. He was splitting carries with Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy but when the Giants needed to close out the game, he was their man. He was running hard behind fullback Pat Ricard and the Dallas defense just wore down throughout the game. It showed that the Giants are committed to the run. Throughout his short career, Skat has never gone under 60 yards in a game where he was the starter. The Rams struggled against the 49ers last week and it wasn’t necessarily because they got out schemed. They were out physicaled by the offensive line. The Giants play a similar brand of ball and should have the upper hand in the run game, with Skat leading the way.