Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants 2017: Prediction, Betting Odds, Preview For Wild-Card Playoff Game

One of the NFC’s two hottest teams is guaranteed to be eliminated from contention by the end of Wild-Card Weekend. The New York Giants and Green Bay Packers both look like Super Bowl contenders, but they’ll go head-to-head in the first round of the 2017 NFL playoffs.

Closing out the regular season by defeating the Washington Redskins, the Giants have gone 9-2 in their last 11 games. The Packers will host a home playoff game after winning six straight contests to end 2016. The two teams have had a lot of success in the last two months, though they’ve done so in very different ways.

New York is winning in the same fashion that brought them championships in 2008 and 2012. While the offense has sputtered, the Giants’ defense has arguably become the NFL’s best. Giving up just 17.8 points per game, New York is second only to the New England Patriots in points allowed.

Green Bay’s defense is in the bottom half of the league, but their offense is firing on all cylinders. The Packers have put up at least 30 points in four straight games, finishing fourth in the NFL in scoring. Aaron Rodgers didn’t look like himself in the first half of the season, but the quarterback played so well down the stretch that he emerged as a top MVP candidate.

In a battle of offense vs. defense, oddsmakers give the edge to the team that can score. Green Bay is a 4.5-point favorite at Lambeau Field, and the over/under of 44.5 is the second-highest on the Wild-Card Weekend schedule.

With the way Rodgers is currently playing, few NFL teams appear to be capable of defeating the Packers in Green Bay. The two-time MVP has a 56-15 career record at home, and he’s posted a passer rating of at least 115.0 in six of his last seven games.

But if anyone can upset Rodgers and Co. at Lambeau Field, it might be the Giants.

New York ranks second in the NFL in opponents’ passer rating (75.8) and passing touchdowns allowed (15). They are the league’s only team that hasn’t given up 30 points in a game, and they excel against high-scoring teams. Playing seven games against teams that rank in the top eight in total offense, the Giants have allowed just 17.9 points per contest.

Led by Pro Bowl cornerback Janoris Jenkins and Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins, the Giants have shut down top quarterbacks all season long. Dak Prescott’s two worst games of 2016 both came against New York, while Drew Brees was held to just 263 passing yards in a 16-13 loss. Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions were only held without a touchdown in their game against the Giants, and Kirk Cousins was picked off twice in Washington’s season finale against New York.

Even when the Giants lost at Green Bay in Week 5, Rodgers didn’t play particularly well. In a 23-16 victory, the quarterback threw two interceptions, and his 65.0 passer rating was his lowest in the last two years.

The emergence of running back Ty Montgomery has been key to Green Bay’s recent offensive success, but he isn’t likely to put up big numbers Sunday afternoon. New York is second in opponents’ yards per carry, and in two games against the Dallas Cowboys, they limited league-leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott to 158 yards on 44 carries.

Putting up enough points to win a low-scoring affair won’t be an easy task for the Giants. They haven’t even scored 20 points in their last five games, and Eli Manning has had one of the worst seasons of his career.

Despite Manning’s struggles, Odell Beckham still finished third in the NFL with 1,367 receiving yards and 101 receptions. No other receiver has his big-play ability, and he’s got a good chance to find the end zone against a poor secondary. Green Bay is second-to-last in passing yards allowed, and they’ve given up at least 24 points in each of their last three games.

New York’s defense has led them to two playoff wins at Lambeau Field in the past decade, and a third victory could very well be added to the list Sunday.

Prediction: New York over Green Bay, 20-16