Packers versus Giants: The official Week 5 prediction
By Tim Muma
With their bye week already behind them, the Green Bay Packers play their second of four straight home games with a battle against the New York Giants.
The Green Bay Packers come into Week 5 trailing the undefeated Minnesota Vikings by 1.5 games in the NFC North. Maybe it’s a touch early to worry about that, but you don’t want the deficit to grow too large.
That’s going to mean taking care of business at Lambeau Field, starting with the visiting 2-2 New York Giants. New York was the latest team knocked off by the Vikings and are experiencing some internal strife.
Supremely talented wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has been going through an emotional and mental struggle lately.
Even Eli Manning, a guy who rarely says anything controversial publicly about a teammate, warned Beckham about his behavior on the field.
All this is a side show to the matchup between the pair of NFC foes who have become quite familiar with each other over the years.
In the last three meetings (including playoffs), the Giants have been victorious. The most recent contest came in 2013 with the Packers falling 27-13 in New York.
When the two last hooked up in Green Bay, it was a terribly frustrating day for the Packers. That happened to be a playoff game following the 2011 season.
Of course, the defending Super Bowl champion Packers – having gone 15-1 during the regular season – were bounced out in the Divisional round.
The 37-20 defeat came at the hands of a 9-7 Giants team. It stands as one of the most disappointing losses in franchise history.
But back to this Sunday. The Packers are 15-5 in their last 20 games following the bye week. They’re also 8-2 under coach Mike McCarthy.
Green Bay has also won 10 consecutive home games in October, so a number of the overall trends favor them this week.