Patriots @ Giants Week 12 Game Preview
Jonathan Fuller breaks down the Week 12 matchup between the New England Patriots and New York Giants from a fantasy football and betting perspective.
New England Patriots @ New York Giants
This game is pretty clearly the least exciting of the week, and that is supported by the 34-point game total. There is a real chance we get Tommy DeVito vs Bailey Zappe in this game, something I doubt anyone predicted (or wanted) before the season began.
It is honestly in the best interest of both teams to lose this game, but as the Giants showed last week, we can still expect both teams to give it their best.
Both offenses rank in the dreaded bottom left quadrant of the below offensive efficiency chart, meaning they are below average in both the rush and pass game.
It’s no surprise there aren’t a whole lot of fantasy-relevant players in this matchup with the two main weapons being each team’s RB.
For the Giants, the offense has flowed through Saquon Barkley most of this season, but especially since Daniel Jones went down. Barkley has averaged 112 scrimmage yards per game over his last five games. He is the RB6 in the Fantasy Life consensus ranks for Week 12, making him a locked-in starter for all fantasy teams.
In the passing game, DeVito showed some life last week throwing for three passing TDs and 246 yards, by far his best performance of the season. That doesn’t mean you should be starting any pass catchers in this offense, but if he can continue to play at a higher level, it will help ensure Saquon remains an elite fantasy option.
The Patriots are expected to keep Mac Jones on the bench and likely roll with Bailey Zappe (or maybe even Will Grier) at QB.
Similar to Saquon, Rhamondre Stevenson has been the engine for this Patriots offense and is the only player you can feel confident starting. He is the RB21 in the Fantasy Life ranks for this week and has a good matchup against a Giants defense that has given up lots of points to opposing RBs this season.
Both Demario Douglas and Hunter Henry are desperation starts only in deep leagues.
There really isn’t a whole lot to say besides that, there is almost no way these two offenses are capable of putting up enough points to turn this into a shootout.
As the Steelers-Browns game showed us last week, when you have a matchup this ugly, your best bet may just be betting the under and checking the score at the end of the game.