Can Henry and Pats Soar to Victory or Will the Jets Clip Their Wings?

Primetime feels a bit like a merciless spotlight for the New York Jets, doesn’t it? No matter how battered or beleaguered, these big-market teams just draw your eyes like gravity—and tonight it’s Jets versus Patriots at 8:15 ET. But here’s a question that’s been nagging me: when does the longest playoff drought in the league finally hit its breaking point? The Jets, struggling at 2-7, don’t exactly inspire a whole lot of hope, especially with their quarterback situation so iffy you might squint and ask, “Is this really football?” Meanwhile, the Patriots are gliding on a seven-game winning streak, their defense stiff and offense so crafty it’s practically an enigma wrapped in a football jersey. Still, with Garrett Wilson sidelined and Justin Fields doing his best “winning despite the odds” act, could the Jets pull off something unexpected? If you like a good underdog story or just enjoy watching the chess match unfold on the gridiron, tonight’s game offers plenty to chew on—even if the Patriots look like the favorite. Intrigued? You should be. LEARN MORE

Jets vs. Patriots, 8:15 ET

There are some teams that it really doesn’t matter how good or bad they are, you’re going to have them getting attention, and you’re going to have people watch them. Any team in a big market typically qualifies for this, but teams like Pittsburgh, or even Green Bay are going to get added attention because of their longevity and how big their fan bases are. With the New York Jets we are going to be forced to watch them in primetime, and thanks to sports betting, it shouldn’t be as painful as they get hammered by the Patriots.

The Jets are bad. I don’t just mean this team, I mean their entire franchise is bad. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2010. It is the longest current drought in football, and you have to wonder when it will end. It certainly won’t be this year as the team is 2-7. There also isn’t a ton of hope as I highly doubt any high-level quarterback prospect is coming out of college. I suppose someone will be a good enough quarterback to be drafted highly, but this isn’t the draft that has a can’t miss quarterback. The team is actually pretty good at some positions – they have a good wide receiver in Garrett Wilson, a good running back in Bryce Hall, and even Mason Taylor looks like a solid tight end. Their defense has a few good pieces, even though they traded away Sauce Gardner at the deadline. They clearly said this is not the year, and started looking at next season. Justin Fields has gotten the Jets to win in his past two outings, but lets be realistic, this team is winning despite his involvement. He was six-for-11 against the Browns for a total of 54 yards, one touchdown and one interception. That’s an embarrasing stat line and clearly the indicator of where the Jets need to improve.

The Patriots are good. That has to be frustrating for a lot of AFC East fans after dealing with Tom Brady and now Josh Allen for so many years. The Patriots are 8-2 with Drake Maye looking like a potential MVP candidate. New England has won seven straight games, and has a realistic possibility of winning 10 straight before their bye week. This hasn’t been a ridiculously tough schedule for them, and I called that out last week when I was wrong about the Buccaneers beating them. They won over the Dolphins, PAnthers, Saints, Titans, Browns, Falcons, and now over the Buccaneers in addition to their best game against the Bills. To their credit, in both games against the Bills and Buccaneers, they were in control for the majority of it. There were some stats that indicate they could’ve lost both of those games, but I’m not going to get into it because that didn’t happen. The truth is, this Patriots team has a good defense, and their offense is unique enough that it keeps teams guessing.

The Patriots defense is excellent against the run, and that’s one of the few things the Jets can do well. Fields wants to run, and Hall is a reliable running back. Wilson will be out for this game, so that should make the Jets look to run even more. The Pats defense isn’t great against the pass, but Fields can’t throw to save his job, so who cares if they aren’t good against it. Against Fields, they should look almost Hall of Fame level. I’d love to back the under 14.5 but I think that’s too low in a short week to take. I’d actually lean to the over for that. I think a player prop makes the most sense. The Jets struggle against tight ends and Hunter Henry is the second most targeted player on the Patriots. I’ll take his over 33.5 receiving yards, which is lower than his season average. His any time touchdown is +135, and I like that as well.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024