Pats – Jets
Time: NOON CST
Spread: NE -11
Total: 47.5
Betting odds c/o Bovada
Predictably, the New England Patriots have rolled to a 11-3 record and sit atop the AFC East as NFL oddsmakers predicted the squad would leading into this season. The Patriots will look to gain its 12th win facing the New York Jets on the road. NFL Live lines show the Pats as 11-point favorites in the contest.
The Patriots rank 6th in the NFL in passing yardage again on the strength of Tom Brady’s arm. The ageless wonder has helped the Pats gain 273.6 yards per game in the air, while the rush contributes a solid 109. The defense has been borderline this year, but the Patriots have compensated by getting in the end zone.
The Pats have won two straight since losing to Green Bay in Week 13, which had snapped a seven-game win streak prior to that contest. Over the last two weeks, Green Bay has outscored San Diego and Miami 64-27 and last week handed Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins a 41-13 L. Tannehill threw for mass yardage (346), but threw two INTs in the game and New England held the Dolphins to 3-of-16 on third down.
The improved defensive effort bodes well for continued postseason success in New England. The Dolphins led 14-13 at the half, but the Patriots reeled off 24 points in the third quarter while blanking Miami the entire second half. The win improved NE to 7-0 at home this season.
New England has won the division title in 11 of the last 12 seasons, only missing in ’08 when Tom Brady suffered a season ending knee injury.
The New York Jets have been every bit as disastrous as many thought they might be. At 3-11, the Jets have few good things to take away from this season’s failed efforts. The backfield has been good, but only because the pass offense has lingered at a league-worst pace and required more rushing plays.
And as good as the Jets do rush the ball in some respects, the defense has that same strength. It’s just that the overall effect really isn’t there for New York, and following a Week 1 victory with nine consecutive losses kind of revealed this club’s utter lack of direction.
Last week, the Jets were able to notch a 16-11 victory over another horrible football team, the Tennessee Titans. The Titans are just 2-12 and have won one home game all season, so it wasn’t a major victory for the Jets, though it is in the sense that it was the first road win of the entire season.
The Titans jumped out to a bizarre 5-0 lead following a penalty on Geno Smith in the end zone, but the Jets struck the first TD of the game on a 9-yard TD pass to John Connor to take a 10-8 lead. A 1-yard TD run by Chris Ivory in the fourth quarter gave New York the go-ahead five point lead which held the remainder of the game following the 3:09 mark. Online football betting has the total set at 47.5 points for this game.
Betting Trends:
NE: The Patriots are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. the AFC. New England is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 Dec. games. New England is 6-1 ATS in the last 7 overall.
NYJ: The Jets are 0-10-1 ATS in the last 11 games after allowing less than 90 yards rushing the previous game. The UNDER is 5-0 in the Jets last 5 vs. the AFC. The OVER is 5-0 in the last 5 home games vs. teams with winning road records.
Head-to-head: The OVER is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in New York. The OVER is 9-1-1 in the last 11 meetings. The road team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
