Sports Authority Field – Denver, CO
Kickoff: Sunday, 8:25 p.m. ET
Line: Denver -11.5, Total: 39.5

The Giants will be trying to earn their first win of the season when they face the Broncos in Denver on Sunday.

This Sunday Night Football matchup was definitely one that looked great before the season, but New York has been absolutely awful this season. The Giants are 0-5 and their season is very likely over at this point. It would take a significant winning streak for the G-Men to get back into the playoff picture, but it’s just very difficult to imagine this team getting that hot. The Giants had a winnable game at home against the Chargers last week, but they lost that game 27-22 as three-point favorites. It was Los Angeles’ first win of the season, which only made the loss sting more for the Giants and their fans. The Broncos, meanwhile, are rolling right now, as they have won three of their first four and are 2-1-1 ATS in those contests. The team definitely sees an excellent opportunity to improve to 4-1 and that’s important considering that they are in the same division as the undefeated Chiefs. One trend that happens to favor the Giants here is the fact that the Broncos are a lousy 29-53 ATS versus teams with a completion percentage of 64% or better since 1992. Denver should, however, feel pretty good about the fact that New York will be without WRs Odell Beckham Jr. (Ankle) and Brandon Marshall (Ankle) for the remainder of the season. The Broncos obviously don’t wish harm upon anybody, but it will make it difficult for the Giants’ passing game to get in a groove. New York will also likely be without CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Suspension) in this one.

The Giants are absolutely falling apart, as they are winless, ravaged by injuries, and also dealing with locker room issues. Rodgers-Cromartie is the one that has brought problems to the locker room, as he walked out of practice on Wednesday and got himself suspended from this game. His absence will be huge for a team that is already 0-5, as the Broncos will now be able to pass the ball a lot easier on Sunday night. That won’t make it any easier for the Giants to win this game. If New York is going to compete then it will be QB Eli Manning (1,388 yards, 8 TD, 5 INT) that needs to carry the team on his shoulders. Manning is not going to have his top weapons out there, but he is a two-time Super Bowl MVP and should be able to play well with what he’s got. One guy that he’ll look to use a bit more moving forward is TE Evan Engram (19 rec, 200 yards, 1 TD). Engram is more like a receiver than a tight end and he is most definitely the team’s best weapon with the other guys injured. If he can’t start to perform well soon then the Giants just might be looking at a top-five pick in the draft this year. That’s not what this group wants, as New York was actually thinking about winning a Super Bowl for most of the offseason.

The Broncos are looking to improve to 4-1 with a victory on Sunday, and they’re definitely playing the right team here. QB Trevor Siemian (888 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT) won’t have to worry about Rodgers-Cromartie in this game, so it wouldn’t be shocking if he were to put up some solid numbers here. Siemian has also always been better at home, where he has thrown for 629 yards with seven touchdowns and only two picks this season. He’ll take care of the ball at the very least. And he’ll also do what he can to get the ball to WRs Demaryius Thomas (18 rec, 247 yards) and Emmanuel Sanders (20 rec, 190 yards, 2 TD) quickly here. Both guys should be able to do some damage, but the Broncos would still like to lean heavily on RB C.J. Anderson (330 yards, 1 TD) in this game. Anderson has struggled to stay healthy throughout his NFL career, but he has been as reliable as they come when on the field. He gets the hard-earned yards between the tackles and the Broncos will need him to eat up some yards in this game. If he can do that then life on Siemian will be a lot easier and he’ll also be doing his part in helping to keep this Denver defense fresh.