When you think of bitter rivalries in the NFL, you don’t tend to think of the Patriots and Jets as being one of them, but in the Rex Ryan years coaching the Gang Green, this is one that has turned a little nasty. That makes this a perfect match-up for the Thursday night game, although given the recent performances of both teams, it’s one that could turn ugly for all the wrong reasons. The Pats enter the game as a clear favorite, and despite the history between these two and the 9.5 point spread, what they’ve done this season vs. what the Jets have shown on the field makes New England a much solid NFL betting pick heading to this game.
October 16th, 8:25 PM, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
There’s nothing new in what I’m about to say, but the Jets are an absolute disaster this season, coming into this one at 1-5 and looking very much like a team in hot pursuit of the number one draft pick next year. Their long list of issues has to do with the fact that they seem incapable of doing anything on the offensive side. QB Geno Smith, the lowest-rated passer in the NFL, still trying to figure out how to command his offense. His capacity as team leader still questionable at this point, but despite his limitation, Smith has been named the starting QB against the Pats. The Jets have had only one game this season where they have scored more than 20 points. That was against the Green Bay Packers and was in a losing cause, as they went down 31-24. The only thing they have done consistently well this season is fail to cover the spread, going an awful 0-5-1. There was a lot of the talk during the first couple of weeks of the season about the Bellicheck and Brady magic finally being done. The offense was sputtering and the Pats looked like a pale shadow of the team they have been in recent years, losing the season opening game to the Dolphins and failing again on Week 4 against the Chiefs. The team showed signs of struggle, neither the defense or the offense looked like the Patriots team we’re used to watch, but that has changed dramatically over the past 2 weeks, with the offense racking up 80 points and taking New England to a much nicer looking 4-2 record. One thing that really stands out here is that when they have won this season, they have covered the spread each time.
