The Jets continue the pursuit of imperfection today with a 1pm matchup in NJ against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders came to town last season as well and it was a rousing victory for the Jets, one of the more complete games the team played all season. The Raiders are -7.5 point favorites this morning.
The Raiders are coming off of a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons last week, and are at a distinct travel disadvantage today. Las Vegas got its ass kicked in Atlanta last week, flew back to Las Vegas for four days, then turned around and flew to Newark. Not an easy travel schedule for anyone, let alone a professional football team in the playoff hunt. The home team has won the last five of the matchups between these two teams. The 7.5 points does feel like a bit too much, especially with the Raiders down Josh Jacobs on offense and Johnathan Abrams on defense.
I think the Raiders are due for a bounce back game and are in the midst of the playoff hunt. Darren Waller will obviously eat quite well today as the Jets are incapable of covering a legitimate TE threat. The travel and weather will play an impact in this game. The Raiders will be jet lagged and noodle armed Darnold and Carr will have difficulty driving the ball downfield in the 25 mph wind gusts. This has the making of a classic late-season 1pm Jets game in a lost season that gets absolutely no airplay on RedZone. Something like a final score of 20 – 16 feels about right.
The pick: Under 47
Big Hank’s long-shot of the week: First touchdown scorer – Darren Waller +650
Big Dogs Betting 