NFL Odds: Patriots Narrow Favorites In Preseason Finale Against Giants

The New England Patriots will look to end a three-game preseason slide against New York when they host the Giants in Thursday’s August finale as three-point favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

New England returns home after tallying a 30-28 win over the Detroit Lions as 3 1/2-point chalk last week to lift its preseason record to 1-2 going into Thursday night’s Giants vs. Patriots betting matchup at Gillette Stadium.

That win in Detroit halted the Patriots’ three-game losing streak in preseason action, and marks the most points the team has scored in an August road contest since their 31-22 win over the Philadelphia Eagles as three-point underdogs four years ago.

The big news entering the Patriots’ final preseason outing is the loss of Julian Edelman after the two-time Super Bowl champion suffered a season-ending ACL injury against the Lions. With Edelman sidelined, new arrival Brandin Cooks now is expected to play a larger role in the Patriots’ offense.

However, Cooks has produced limited numbers in preseason action, making just two catches for 15 total yards, and faces the intimidating task of quickly developing chemistry with quarterback Tom Brady.

The Patriots have come up short in their past three preseason-ending matchups with New York, including a 17-9 loss to a largely second-string Giants squad last season as 2 1/2-point road favorites, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.

According to reports out of Giants camp this week, New York once again will sit a number of regulars against New England, including receivers Odell Beckham Jr., who remains sidelined with an ankle injury, and Brandon Marshall, whose status remains uncertain as he recovers from a shoulder injury.

Those injuries have contributed to what has been a disappointing month for the Giants. New York came out flat in a pair of straight-up and against-the-spread losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, scoring just 18 total points in their first two preseason games.

And the Giants came within a missed two-point conversion of blowing a 26-point first-half lead over the New York Jets last week, holding off an impressive second-half rally to claim a 32-31 win as 4 1/2-point favorites.

After failing to cover against the Jets, the Giants now own a 4-7-1 ATS record over their past 12 preseason outings. However, New York is a solid 7-3-2 ATS in its past 12 August dates with the Patriots, and has held New England to 17 or fewer points in six of their past seven preseason matchups.

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