The NFL Preseason is in full swing and there’s a ton of action over the weekend. The John Harbaugh era began in unassuming fashion for the New York Giants, but there’s no reason to panic this early in the game. Now, they take on a rebuilding Miami Dolphins squad in the second matchup of the tune-up slate.
Here’s a prediction and pick for Giants vs. Dolphins in the NFL Preseason on Saturday, courtesy of odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Giants vs. Dolphins preview
The preseason really doesn’t mean all that much in the grand scheme of things, so it shouldn’t be used as a measuring stick for a team’s future performance. However, for the clubs themselves, there are reasons that these games do matter.
The Giants’ preseason got off to a slow start, dropping their opening game 13-10 to the Minnesota Vikings. The offense didn’t play up to par with just 201 total yards on the day, despite the starters seeing some time. However, it’s not the end of the world against one of the league’s most well-coached defenses, and there were positives to glean. Jaxson Dart went 3-for-4 with 26 yards and a touchdown, and emerged from the game unscathed after a brief trip to the injury tent. Cam Skattebo got on the field and averaged 4.8 YPC in his first action since a major injury suffered last season, too. And of course, third-round rookie Malachi Fields showed promise with 34 yards and a tuddy on three catches.
Defensively, New York mostly held up, too. That was a positive against an offense that had plenty of talent as starters and some notable quarterback play, so holding the Vikings to 13 points and 238 total yards can be considered a success. It’s early, but perhaps there’s some proof of concept there given Harbaugh’s reputation as a defensive-minded culture setter. Of course, it’s very early and this could just be an overreaction given the competition.
The Dolphins are also entering the first year under a new head coach after Jeff Hafley took over this offseason. Their new era began in poor fashion as well, though given expectations of a full rebuild, that isn’t any surprise. This is the ultimate ‘test the talent and see what sticks’ type of team, at least for now.
Miami dropped that preseason opener 20-7 to the Washington Commanders, who did not have Jayden Daniels available and were quarterbacked by a couple of rookies. The Dolphins’ defense gave up 334 yards, though they did intercept one pass and create three sacks. The expectations are low on that side of the ball, but the offense does have some intrigue to it.
Malik Willis, who secured a nice contract to step in as the starting quarterback following a backup stint in Green Bay, went 4-for-5 for 43 yards while also rushing twice for an additional nine yards. Not an awesome game, sure, but it was his debut in the jersey. The backfield did stand out as Ollie Gordon II and De’Von Achane each rushed seven times for 39 yards, and the latter secured a touchdown, too. The receiving corps is a litany of names, so who emerges from it is anyone’s guess. On the day, the Dolphins only totaled 226 yards and went a paltry 3-for-12 on third down, far from what you want to see.
Giants vs. Dolphins prediction, pick
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Giants as a three-point road favorite in this matchup with -162 odds to win on the Moneyline. The Dolphins are a +136 home underdog with the game total set at 36.5 combined points.
To be clear, betting on NFL Preseason can prove very tricky. Established names don’t see much action, especially in the earlier weeks, and there’s much more variance in these games due to the roster shuffling and how deep of a player pool coaches draw from.
The under does jump out in this spot. Neither team’s offense clicked in the preseason opener, and both are run via new schemes only freshly integrated by the new head coaches. That lends itself to a learning curve which is only exacerbated by the sheer number of young players who are on both sides.
After the injury scare for Dart last time out, it’s likely that Harbaugh will choose to sit his starters plenty on Saturday. The regular season is approaching and it’s probably not worth taking the risk of key pieces getting hurt, and it wouldn’t necessarily be surprising if Hafley limits workloads for his own starters more than expected. Given the nature of how this stage of competition essentially becomes a means of talent evaluation around the fringes and a handful of position battles, taking New York’s best players out of the equation and limiting the best of a largely unproven Miami roster also means a worse scoring outlook.
I’m personally fading scoring hard, but if I had to pick a winner, I’d look at the Giants in this one sheerly based on coaching.
