Pats Small Road Dogs
The New York Jets host the Tom Brady-less New England Patriots in East Rutherford on Sunday. Oddsmakers have made the Jets 1-point favorites in Week 2.
The New England Patriots are in turmoil right now after Tom Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Matt Cassel takes over for Brady under center and he hasn’t started a game since he was a senior in high school. The Patriots still have an outstanding defense led by Richard Seymour and the offensive line is solid, but Cassel is highly inexperienced and the Jets are going to try to confuse him with multiple defensive fronts.
The New York Jets look like an entirely different team with Brett Favre now under center. But the Patriots obviously pose a different challenge than the Miami Dolphins, even without Brady. The Jets will need Favre to take chances in the passing game again and Thomas Jones must be as productive as he was last week to keep the Pats’ defense off balance. Defensively, New York needs to crash the pocket and keep Cassel uncomfortable. Stopping the run again this week will also be vital.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Jets 1-point favorites. The over/under total has been set at 39.5 and current public betting information shows that 59% of bettors favor New England -1. Until Cassel struggles, it’s hard to go against the Patriots. The Jets appear to be the better team and the powers are shifting in the division, but New England still has a top-notch defense that can force turnovers and produce excellent field position for its offense. We predict the Patriots over the Jets 23-20.
Patriots at Jets Game Odds, Spread & Over Under Total
Patriots +1 over 39.5
Jets –1 under 39.5
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