Jets

Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets: 2022 Week 16 NFL Pick

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Jacksonville Jaguars (6-8) at New York Jets (7-7)

The Jaguars pulled off a huge comeback upset win over the Cowboys in overtime last week, but that loss might have come with a price, as now the Jaguars have to play on a short week after that overtime game, which has proven to be a close to impossible spot for teams to play well in, with teams going just 2-22 ATS against the spread on short rest after an overtime game. Making matters worse, the Jaguars have to go on the road outside of the division, which is also a tough spot for teams on short rest, unless they’re facing a significantly worse team, which is not the case this week against the Jets. Historically, non-divisional road underdogs cover at a 37.5% rate on Thursday Night Football, as long as both teams are on short rest.

We’re not getting good line value with the Jets as 1.5-point favorites, as that’s right around where I have this line calculated, as the Jets are at home and have been the slightly better team this season, but the Jaguars have been playing significantly better in recent weeks, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence emerging in a big way midway through his second season in the league. However, that calculated line doesn’t take into account the significant disadvantage the Jaguars are at in this game and, even without getting any line value with them, the Jets are still worth a bet purely based on how bad of a spot the Jaguars are in. This isn’t worth a big bet, but I like the Jets this week.

New York Jets 24 Jacksonville Jaguars 20

Pick against the spread: NY Jets -1.5

Confidence: Medium

Detroit Lions at New York Jets: 2022 Week 15 NFL Pick

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Detroit Lions (6-7) at New York Jets (7-6)

A week ago on the early line, the Jets were favored by a field goal at home against the Lions, but this line has since shifted to favoring the Lions by 1.5 points. Normally I like to go against significant week-to-week line movements like that, but in this case it might be justified, as the Lions played well in a big victory over the Vikings, while the Jets lost their best quarterback Mike White to injury and will turn back to Zach Wilson this week. 

The Jets could also be without stud interior defender Quinnen Williams, arguably the best player on their defense, after he didn’t practice all week. I’m still taking the Jets for pick ‘em purposes because they still have the edge on the season in point differential (+21 vs. +2) and schedule adjusted efficiency (12th vs. 18th), even with a carousel of different quarterbacks under center, and they now are home underdogs in this game. This is only a low confidence pick though and, if Williams is out, I would drop all confidence.

Update: Williams out, but, for some reason, the Jets are now favored by 1.5 points. I am switching my pick to Detroit, but dropping this to a no confidence pick.

New York Jets 24 Detroit Lions 23

Pick against the spread: Detroit +1.5

Confidence: None

New York Jets at Buffalo Bills: 2022 Week 14 NFL Pick

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New York Jets (7-5) at Buffalo Bills (9-3)

The Bills are favored by 10 points in this game against the Jets, who are at least a middling team, ranking 13th in schedule adjusted efficiency. That might seem high at first glance, but the Bills have had a tendency to blow teams out over the past two seasons, with 17 of their last 21 victories coming by 10 points or more, relevant considering where this line is. Only 2 of their last 5 wins have surpassed this margin of victory, but the Bills are healthier this week than they have been recently, which should make a big difference in the Bills’ margins of victory, as it did last week in their 14-point victory in New England.

A lot of attention has been paid to the Bills losing Von Miller for the season and that is a huge loss, but, aside from that, the Bills are in pretty good injury shape compared to most of the season, with talented safety Jordan Poyer (four games missed), starting offensive linemen Mitch Morse (two games) and Dion Dawkins one game), stud linebackers Tremaine Edmunds (three games) and Matt Milano (one game), and talented edge defender Greg Rousseau (three games), top cornerback Tre’Davious White (ten games) all set to play this week, after missing significant time with injury early in the season. My calculated line actually has the Bills as 11.5-point favorites here, so we’re getting a little bit of line value with them, despite the line being so high. This game isn’t bettable, but I like the Bills for pick ‘em purposes, as they should get another multi-score win this week, like they did last week and in most of their wins over the past two seasons.

Buffalo Bills 30 New York Jets 19

Pick against the spread: Buffalo -10

Confidence: Low

New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings: 2022 Week 13 NFL Pick

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New York Jets (7-4) at Minnesota Vikings (9-2)

The Vikings are 9-2, but they have needed an 8-0 record in one score games to get there and they have just a +5 point differential. However, this seems to be well known, as they are only 3-point home favorites against the Jets. The Jets have a significantly better point differential (+34), but they’ve been much more defensive oriented (12th in schedule adjusted efficiency), while the Vikings have been more offensive oriented (3rd in schedule adjusted efficiency), which tends to be more predictive of future success, and the Vikings hold the edge in my roster rankings as well. If anything, we’re actually getting a little bit of line value with the Vikings at -3, so they seem like the better side for pick ‘em purposes, even if there’s not enough here for the Vikings to be worth betting.

Minnesota Vikings 23 New York Jets 19

Pick against the spread: Minnesota -3

Confidence: Low

Chicago Bears at New York Jets: 2022 Week 12 NFL Pick

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Chicago Bears (3-8) at New York Jets (6-4)

The Jets’ offense was embarrassed last week in New England, averaging 2.10 yards per play and converting first downs at a 11.76% rate in a 10-3 loss, but they also had a dominant performance on defense once again and, overall, they rank first in the league in schedule adjusted defensive efficiency. Their offensive performance was obviously abysmal, but they were facing the second ranked defense in the league in terms of schedule adjusted efficiency and they are highly unlikely to be that bad two weeks in a row, especially since they’ve made a change at quarterback, which can’t make things worse. 

The Jets only rank 25th in the league in schedule adjusted offensive efficiency, but that’s still a lot better than they looked last week and, overall, they rank 15th in schedule adjusted efficiency, about a half point above average. It also helps that the Jets will face a much easier defense this week, as the Bears rank 26th in schedule adjusted defensive efficiency and have been even worse since trading away Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn. They’ll also be without talented rookie safety Jaquan Brisker this week due to injury.

The Bears’ offense has been somewhat keeping them afloat in recent weeks while their defense has struggled mightily, but that’s almost entirely due to the play of quarterback Justin Fields, as they lack a significant amount of talent around him on offense, and Fields is considered highly questionable this week to play through a shoulder injury. The injury is to his non-throwing shoulder, but it could still affect his play and the Bears might prefer to play it safe with their young signal caller, sitting at 3-8, with their season going nowhere, especially given Fields’ propensity to take off and run, taking extra hits in the process.

Even if Fields plays and is limited, my calculated line favors the Jets by 6.5, so we’re getting line value with the Jets at -5.5 either way, especially if Fields is ruled out, in which case my calculated line would jump to 9.5. I don’t think I want to bet on this game right now, but the Jets should be the right pick for pick ‘em purposes and, depending on Fields’ status and where this line settles, I may ultimately end up putting some money on the Jets.

New York Jets 20 Chicago Bears 13

Pick against the spread: NY Jets -5.5

Confidence: Low

New York Jets at New England Patriots: 2022 Week 11 NFL Pick

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New York Jets (6-3) at New England Patriots (5-4)

The Patriots play again a few days after this game, facing the Vikings on Thanksgiving, which would normally put the Patriots in a bad spot, as favorites cover at just a 44.6% rate before Thursday Night Football, but the Patriots are also coming off of a bye, which might nullify that somewhat. There isn’t a large sample size of favorites playing between a bye week and a Thursday game, but teams are 9-10 ATS in that spot, which isn’t good, but it’s not particularly bad either and it makes sense that having extra rest beforehand would somewhat offset having an upcoming short turnaround, so I wouldn’t shy away from the Patriots this week just because they have to play again a few days after this one.

That being said, I do still like the Jets a little bit at +3.5, as I expect this to be a close, low scoring game, with two teams that have much better defenses than offenses. About 1 in 4 games are decided by three points or fewer and this seems likely to be one of them. However, this is a no confidence pick and, if the line were to move to three, I would like the Patriots at that number more than I like the Jets at this number, so I would change my pick in that circumstance. Either way, there’s nothing worth betting on here and this is one of my lowest confidence picks of the week.

New England Patriots 19 New York Jets 16

Pick against the spread: NY Jets +3.5

Confidence: None

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets: 2022 Week 9 NFL Pick

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Buffalo Bills (6-1) at New York Jets (5-3)

The Jets are 5-3, but are 11.5-point home underdogs against the Bills, the first time a team has been home underdogs of 11 points or more despite a record 5-3 or better since the 2007 Giants were 10-5 against the undefeated New England Patriots in week 17. In some sense that makes sense, as the Bills blow out almost everyone they beat, with an average margin of victory of 21.1 points per game over the past two seasons, as opposed to a margin of defeat of 7.1 points per game.

However, this line still does seem a little high. The Jets have significant problems on offense, missing starting wide receiver Corey Davis, impressive rookie running back Breece Hall, and talented starting right tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker, among other lesser absences, but their defense is legitimately one of the best in the league, ranking 3rd in schedule adjusted defensive efficiency. They could make this game at least somewhat competitive with the Bills and, while they’re still likely to lose by multiple scores, my calculated line has them as just 9-point underdogs, so we’re getting some value with them at +11.5. There’s not enough here for the Jets to be worth betting, but they’re the better side for pick ‘em purposes.

Buffalo Bills 23 New York Jets 13

Pick against the spread: NY Jets +11.5

Confidence: Low

New England Patriots at New York Jets: 2022 Week 8 NFL Pick

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New England Patriots (3-4) at New York Jets (5-2)

The Jets are off to a surprising 5-2 start and, while they probably aren’t as good as that record suggests, they are probably still better than they are being given credit for, as 2.5-point home underdogs against the Patriots. It’s surprising that their record is as good as it is, but it’s not surprising to see the Jets be significantly improved from a year ago, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. 

The Jets’ offense is underwhelming, ranking 29th in schedule adjusted efficiency, and the injuries are starting to pile up on that side of the ball as well, missing starting wide receiver Corey Davis, impressive rookie running back Breece Hall, and talented starting right tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker, among other lesser absences, but their defense has jumped from 31st in schedule adjusted defensive efficiency a year ago to now ranking 6th, about three points above average.

That defensive performance is no fluke, as they are significantly more talented on that side of the ball this season, with several key players bouncing back from injuries (Carl Lawson, Quinnen Williams) and other key players being added in the draft (Ahmad Gardner) and free agency this off-season (DJ Reed, Kwon Alexander). My roster rankings have their defense about three points above average, in line with schedule adjusted defensive efficiency and, even with their offensive issues, I still have them just a point below average overall in my roster rankings. 

The Patriots are about a point above average in my roster rankings, so they’re the slightly better team, but not enough to justify them being favored by this many points on the road. My calculated line is even, with the Jets having a slightly better chance to win than the Patriots. We’re not getting enough points with the Jets for them to be worth betting unless we get a full field goal with them, but they should be the right side for pick ‘em purposes either way and the money line is a good value at +120, as the Jets should be considered no worse than 50/50 to win this game outright.

New York Jets 17 New England Patriots 16 Upset Pick +120

Pick against the spread: NY Jets +2.5

Confidence: Low

New York Jets at Denver Broncos: 2022 Week 7 NFL Pick

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New York Jets (4-2) at Denver Broncos (2-4)

A week ago on the early line, the Broncos were 3.5-point favorites, but this line has since shrunk to favor the Broncos by only one point. Normally I like to fade significant week-to-week line movements because they tend to be an overreaction to a single week of play, but I don’t think that’s the case here, for a couple reasons. For one, Broncos’ quarterback Russell Wilson suffered a hamstring injury and, while it seems unlikely that he will actually sit out this game, Wilson was already struggling through a shoulder injury and struggling to adapt to his new team, so a hamstring injury won’t help matters. On top of that, if Wilson does sit, the Broncos would have to turn to inexperienced backup Brett Rypien, who is one of the shakier backup quarterbacks in the league. 

The Broncos already rank just 31st in schedule adjusted offensive efficiency, due to Wilson’s struggles, as well as significant injuries to key players around him, including left tackle Garret Bolles, running back Javonte Williams, and wide receiver Tim Patrick. The Broncos have played pretty well defensively, ranking 6th in schedule adjusted efficiency, but offensive performance is significantly more predictive week-to-week than defensive performance and, in terms of overall efficiency, which weights offensive performance higher and includes the Broncos 28th ranked special teams, the Broncos rank just 29th, 7 points below average. That lines up with my roster rankings, which have them 6 points below average, even before taking into account the fact that Wilson could sit this game out entirely.

The second reason that I don’t think the line movement is an overreaction is that I don’t think the Jets’ big upset win in Green Bay last week was a fluke. The Jets’ still have an underwhelming offense, ranking 27th in schedule adjusted offensive efficiency, but they are still three points better than the Broncos in that metric and they have been better with quarterback Zach Wilson and left tackle Duane Brown back in the lineup. On top of that, their special teams has remained dominant, ranking 3rd in schedule adjusted efficiency, after ranking 2nd a year ago, and their defense is significantly improved this season, ranking 5th in schedule adjusted efficiency after ranking 31st last year, with several key players bouncing back from injuries (Carl Lawson, Quinnen Williams) and other key players being added in the draft (Ahmad Gardner) and free agency this off-season (DJ Reed, Kwon Alexander). 

In terms of overall efficiency, the Jets rank 13th, about a point above average and, while my roster rankings have them slightly lower, they’re still only a half point below average, so their surprising performance thus far this season doesn’t seem like a fluke. They might not be quite as good as their 4-2 record, but I think the public thinks their record is a complete fluke and I think the line movement we’ve seen in this game over the past week is just the oddsmakers starting to catch up to the Jets being decent more than it is an overreaction. With the Broncos struggling as much as they’ve struggled thus far this season, my calculated line actually favors the Jets by a field goal on the road, so we’re getting good line value with the Jets +1. That calculated line would shoot up even further if Wilson was actually unable to play. This isn’t a big play, but I want to lock this line in now in case Wilson ends up being ruled out.

Update: Russell Wilson was ruled out today. I figured the line would move to favor the Jets by a field goal in that case, but I guess the original line factored in a pretty significant chance that Wilson would be out, as the Jets are only favored by one point, which is pretty insignificant line movement, given that games decided by exactly one point aren’t that common (about 6% of the time). Obviously if you locked your bet in at +1, that is great, but I would recommend an additional bet at -1 because this line is way too low. Brett Rypien is one of the most underwhelming backup quarterbacks in the league, has an underwhelming supporting cast, and will have to face a good Jets defense without the benefit of a full week of first team reps, having split them with Wilson all week. The Jets should win this game relatively easily.

New York Jets 20 Denver Broncos 13

Pick against the spread: NY Jets -1

Confidence: High

New York Jets at Green Bay Packers: 2022 Week 6 NFL Pick

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New York Jets (3-2) at Green Bay Packers (3-2)

I was hoping we would get some value with the Packers this week, back at home after a disappointing performance in London against the Giants last week. In Aaron Rodgers’ career, the Packers have had a significant homefield advantage, going 47-20 ATS at home in games started and finished by Aaron Rodgers, with Rodgers having a QB rating that is 10 points better at home, significantly higher than the average differential for a quarterback. Unfortunately, despite the Packers’ loss last week and the Jets’ upset win over the Dolphins, this line has barely moved from a week ago, with the Packers still favored by 7.5 points, after being favored by 9 on the early line last week, a pretty insignificant difference. 

That’s probably because the Jets are still underrated, as their offense is significantly better than earlier this year with Zach Wilson and Duane Brown back from injury, while their defense (8th) and special teams (2nd) both rank well above average in efficiency. Even with extra homefield advantage taken into account, my calculated line only has the Packers favored by a touchdown, so we’re actually getting a little bit of line value with the Jets, although not nearly enough to be confident picking them.

Green Bay Packers 27 New York Jets 20

Pick against the spread: NY Jets +7.5

Confidence: None