Green Bay Packers open up as favorites to beat the New York Giants in London

Despite there being questions about the New York Giants quarterback room, the Green Bay Packers have opened up as 7.5-point favorites on DraftKings for their Week 5 matchup in London, England. Starting Giants quarterback Daniel Jones injured his ankle in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor left the game with a concussion, leading to New York running “wildcat” snaps with running back Saquon Barkley under center in their win against the Packers’ divisional rivals.

For whatever reason, though, the betting markets have yet to react to the injuries. According to DK Nation, the point spread of this game was also listed with the Packers as 7.5-point favorites on September 30th and on May 13th Green Bay was only favored by 6.5 points. The point total has held steady at 41 points, too.

The Giants will desperately need some good news on the injury front early on in the week, as the team — like the Packers — will fly out on Thursday. New York only has two quarterbacks on their active roster and David Webb, a 2017 third-round pick, is the sole quarterback on their practice squad. To complicate this situation even more, the quarterbacks the Giants will have to look to add if either Jones or Taylor cannot play against Green Bay will need to have a passport, which even further limits their options.

The good news for “under” bettors is that the Packer have only managed to score 75 points through four games, their lowest total since their 2006-2004 stretch. Until their Sunday win against the New England Patriots, Green Bay games had not cracked a 40-point total this season.

Scoring has crashed league-wide, as the rise of two-high defenses has taken over professional football in recent seasons. The Packers, with their limited and/or young receiving threats, have been the face of the crashing passing game in 2022. The back-to-back MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers is averaging 234 passing yards per game through the first four games of this season and has thrown three interceptions to go along with just six passing touchdowns. Currently, his passer rating sits at 95.6, a number he has only shot below once since his first season as a full-time starter in 2008.

Green Bay’s moneyline is set at -340, which carries an implied probability that the Packers win 77 percent of the time against the Giants. For reference, though, the Packers were bigger favorites in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears and this past Sunday against the Patriots, a game they nearly lost.