New York Giants 2021-2022 Season Preview, Odds and Win Totals

It was rough sledding for rookie head coach Joe Judge and the Giants to begin their 2020 campaign, but the hill eventually smoothed out during the final stretch.

An 0-5 start put them initially in the basement of NFL power rankings to start the year, especially when they only scored a combined 48 points through their first four games of the season. Then came a stretch of four games where despite a 1-3 record, the three losses were only by a combined six points. After a two point loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, the Giants went 5-3 in the second half of the season, contending for a postseason spot late in the year before finishing 6-10.

The team dealt with plenty of issues during 2020, notably led by star running back Saquon Barkley suffering a torn ACL in the second week of the year. Daniel Jones was either inefficient or hurt, and the offensive line was brutal in the first half.

Now as Jones begins his third season in the league with more weapons to surround him, a jump is paramount to New York’s success to contend in an improved, yet still weak NFC East.

New York Giants Outlook

Jones regressed mightily in Year 2 going from 24 to 11 TDs thrown. The former No. 6 pick in the 2019 NFL draft is now 8-18 as a starter and still only completing just over 62% of his passes in two seasons. 

He should find relief in the return of Saquon Barkley off a torn ACL, although the timetable isn’t official as to if he’ll be 100% ready by the start of the regular season. When healthy, Barkley is one of the elite running backs in the game with over 1,000 yards in his first two seasons along with 143 catches.

As for Jones’ receivers, the Giants made a key free agency splash with former Lions receiver Kenny Golladay on a 4 year, $72 million deal. He joins productive wideouts Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, along with the always dangerous Evan Engram as notable targets for Jones in 2021. Tight end Kyle Rudolph also joined forces after 10 seasons with the Vikings. 

As for the much maligned offensive line, they made strides in the second half. Giants GM Dave Gettleman discussed their improvement at his end of the season presser:

"The offensive line showed very good progress. They're big, they're young, they're strong and they're tough and smart. This O-Line has a chance to be pretty damn good.” 

Defensively, the Giants hung tough with a top 9 defense in points allowed in 2020. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham always seemed to have a game plan that kept New York in a bunch of games all season long, but their offense just couldn’t get them over the top. 

Leonard Williams led the way up front with 11.5 sacks, and inside linebacker Blake Martinez led the team by a wide margin in both solo tackles (86) and combined (151). The loss of defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson to the Minnesota Vikings will present a challenge, but Austin Johnson and Danny Shelton will be asked to fill in at the nose tackle spot alongside Williams.

In the secondary, James Bradberry had a terrific season and former Titans corner and first rounder Adoree’ Jackson should help solidify both outside cornerback positions.

New York Giants 2021 NFL Draft

The Giants traded their 11th overall pick to the Chicago Bears so they could select Justin Fields. While collecting a first rounder next season, the Giants selected Florida wide receiver Kadarius Toney who was a first-team All-SEC member in 2020. The Giants will be able to use him all over the field as a weapon both downfield with his 4.39 speed, as well as in the screen game and perhaps as a runner.

In Round 2, New York added Georgia outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari who should help provide a boost in the pass rush as well as in coverage, as well as cornerback Aaron Robinson out of UCF. Linebacker Elerson Smith out of Northern Iowa is projected as more of a project, but has freakish athletic ability, including being in the 98th percentile for vertical jump and 94th percentile for broad jump. 

New York Giants Odds: Division (+325), Conference (+2500), Super Bowl (+5500)

The Giants +325 division odds at WynnBET Sportsbook make them the third favorites in the division behind the Cowboys (+135) and Washington (+240).

New York, despite a lower projected win total than Washington (8.5), still hold the same odds to win both the NFC (+2500), as well as Super Bowl 56 odds (+5500).

New York GIants Football Team Regular Season Win Total: 7.5 WINS | OVER (+115), UNDER (-135)

Ben Heisler:

Which Giants team did we truly see a season ago?

Was it the mistake-prone, 1-7 first half club that either got blown out or blew late leads, or the 5-3 team that rode their defense and didn’t turn the ball over? I tend to buy it being somewhere in the middle, which ultimately gives me little confidence in the Giants as a whole.

In his second year, Joe Judge continues to berate and belittle his players during practices; an act that may work out short term, but is likely doomed to fail when more players begin to tune him out. Some have responded well like receiver Sterling Shepard, but if the Giants continue to struggle, along with having injuries piling up, I could see this situation start to crumble. Saquon Barkley may begin the year still recovering from his ACL injury, and new No. 1 receiver Kenny Golladay is already dealing with a nagging hamstring injury through camp.

Oh, and did I mention the huge level of pressure adding up for Daniel Jones as he enters his third season? Year 2 was a disaster for Jones other than adding another dimension to his game as a running threat, but until he starts proving teams wrong to let him beat them through the passing game, the offense will continue to remain stagnant.

Like Washington, the defense can only take a team so far, but this situation smells like a breakdown coming midway through the season, especially if the Giants struggle from the start. I think six wins is generous and I’ll lean on the side of generosity in a mediocre division.

PREDICTION: UNDER 7.5 WINS (-135)

EXACT WIN TOTAL: 6 WINS (+800)

Donnavan Smoot:

The Giants are an interesting team this season. They are similar to Washington in that they have a good defense and a terrible offense. The Giants were truly awful, ranking 31st in points and yards last season. 

However, I have faith in the Giants this year. First off, Saquon Barkley will be back. He’s coming off an ACL injury, but I still expect him to be a focal point in the offense. Secondly, the Giants added weapons on the outside to help Daniel Jones. With Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, New York will be more explosive across the board. Finally, the Giants played 10 games last year that were decided by one score. They went 5-5 in those games, and can certainly learn how to be on the positive side of that record. 

New York’s defense is going to be the best unit on the team, but Daniel Jones and the offense will determine how successful they are. Jones is turnover prone, which can cause a lot of issues, but the playmakers around him should mitigate a lot of the risks he takes. 

The Giants are going to be a sneaky good team and we shouldn’t be surprised if they are contending for a division title -- given the Cowboys disappoint a little bit.

PREDICTION: OVER 7.5 WINS (+110)

EXACT WIN TOTAL: 9 WINS

Peter Dewey: 

The New York Giants have seen quite the offseason unfold, as Joe Judge’s hard-core coaching style has seen players forced to run wind sprints on the regular, and four players have already retired rather than continuing on with camp. 

Straight up bizarre. 

The Giants are going to need to see something more out of Daniel Jones in 2021, but his first two NFL seasons have shown us that he is a turnover machine (22 interceptions, 23 fumbles lost) in his first 27 career games. 

Adding Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney will give Jones more weapons, but the uncertainty surrounding Saquon Barkley’s health puts a damper on the Giants’ early season outlook. 

The Dallas Cowboys are better with Dak Prescott returning, and the Washington Football Team upgraded at quarterback with Ryan Fitzpatrick this offseason. The Giants still have some major questions on their offensive line, and Jones could be the worst quarterback in the division if Jalen Hurts plays the way he did to end the 2020 season. 

To their credit, the Giants’ defense allowed the ninth-fewest points and 12th-fewest yards in football last season, but it’s going to take a major offensive change after New York scored just 280 points last season which was the second-lowest mark in the league. 

I’m not a believer in Jones, so give me the under on their win projection at WynnBET, but I don’t expect them to miss by much considering they should steal a few games in the NFC East.

PREDICTION: UNDER 7.5 WINS (-135)

EXACT WIN TOTAL: 7 WINS (+500)

Iain MacMillan:

This could be a make or break season for Daniel Jones, and if I was a betting man (I am), I would be willing to bet that he’ll fail to deliver in 2021.

The Giants are in the middle of a rebuilding phase, but did next to nothing this offseason to take a step forward in that category. They signed Kenny Golladay and Kyle Rudolph and drafted Kadarius Toney to give Jones some weapons to work with, but they failed to address their need at offensive line and defense.

They allowed the second most sacks per game in 2020 at 3.1. You can give the quarterback as many weapons as you’d like, but if he only has half a second to throw each passing play, he’s not going to accomplish anything good.

They should get a boost with Saquon Barkley back in the lineup, but even then, an offense without a good offensive line, isn’t much of an offense at all.

The defense, while not horrible, is not near good enough to carry an offense that struggles to move the ball down the field.

New York Giants fans should prepare for yet another lackluster season.

PREDICTION: UNDER 7.5 WINS (-135)

EXACT WIN TOTAL: 5 WINS (+1500)

Will the New York Giants Make the Playoffs? | MISS THE PLAYOFFS (-320), MAKE THE PLAYOFFS (+220)

Ben Heisler: 

The Giants are a ticking time bomb with wild cards at head coach, quarterback and two key skill position areas. There's simply too much unsettled to feel like this is a team that can not only make the postseason, but have a winning record at all.

Sure, the defense is very talented, and I like James Bradberry's cover skills as much as almost anyone, but I also expect some regression from that side of the ball as well, especially with Leonard Williams getting more attention paid to him from last season.

This is a prediction where I could absolutely end up with egg on my face, doubting the "Joe Judge School of Hard Knocks" in his second season. Then again, a 5-3 second half record isn't always what you're led to believe.

PREDICTION: NO (-320)

Donnavan Smoot:

As much as I like the Giants going into this year, I don’t think they’ll make the playoffs. Many of the NFC teams will feel the same way the Giants do at the end of the year. There just won’t be enough space. The NFC West should have three teams, which means the other three divisions will be fighting for one wild card spot. 

Joe Judge, and his drill sergeant mentality, will do a good job in his second season. Unfortunately, it won’t be enough. 

PREDICTION: NO (-320)

Peter Dewey:  

Unless Daniel Jones makes a major leap in his third season, the Giants are going to be on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. 

The NFC West and NFC South have multiple teams that are better than the Giants that will have to compete for wild card spots, and I don’t think the Giants are good enough at the moment to win the division. At just +325 odds to win the NFC East, they are quite far behind Washington (+240) and Dallas (+135) entering the season. 

Like the 2020 season, injuries could thrust the Giants into the picture in the division, but they still finished 6-10 with one of the worst offenses in football. Unless Saquon Barkley can carry the team on his back, and he’s going to have a tough time doing so behind an average offensive line, I don’t see the Giants winning enough games to be a playoff team in 2021.  

PREDICTION: NO (-320)

Iain MacMillan:

There won’t be any wild card spots available for whoever finishes second in the NFC East, and even if there were, I don’t think the Giants will claim the runner-up spot in the division. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if they finish in last place.

Jones completed only 62.5% of passes last year, while completing only one more touchdown pass (11) than interceptions (10). The Giants will give him one more chance this year, he’ll fail, and then the rebuilding process will start all over again in the offseason.

PREDICTION: NO (-320)

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Every day from the start of NFL Training Camp, the BetSided team of Ben Heisler, Donnavan Smoot, Peter Dewey and Iain MacMillan are breaking down the win totals, playoff and Super Bowl odds for every team in the NFL.

Check back Monday at 1 p.m. EDT when we preview the betting outlook for the Philadelphia Eagles and check out our earlier team-by-team betting previews.

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