Giants vs. Washington: How much is Saquon Barkley's absence impacting the line?

By: Dan Orlando

Daniel Jones may only be entering his second start, but the rookie’s inexperience is not why DraftKings has the Giants and Washington separated by only 3 points in Week 4.

New York will be entering the matchup without star running back Saquon Barkley. This loss alone arguably accounts for at least 7 points not going on the board.

But is this spread realistic?

The Giants are both the home team and the favorite. Winless Washington is in such bad shape, that they are opting to keep their first-round rookie QB on the bench due to a lack of weapons and protection.

Both teams are averaging 31. 3 points allowed per game. But the Giants hung 32 on Tampa Bay last week in Jones’ debut and Washington managed 27 against the Eagles and 21 against the Cowboys, before a flat 15-point outing against Chicago in a game that looked better for them on paper than it actually was.

Two struggling defenses tells me we’ll see three TD’s from both sides, but I don’t see Jones & Co stopping there.

Barkley is irreplaceable, but the rookie signal caller didn’t miss a beat last week when he was without Saqoun for the majority of the game against a respectable defense.

Bottom Line:

Washington may not be as bad as their 0-3 record suggests and defender Landon Collins enters Sunday’s game with an extra-large chip on his shoulder. They may keep this within one score on the road.

But that score will be a touchdown. Giants win 28-21.

Note: All articles by Dan Orlando on this site are analysis. They are not guaranteed outcomes of games.