New England Patriots at New York Jets NFL Preview and Odds
The New England Patriots lead the AFC East by three games now. After six weeks the entire division was tied at 3-3, but since then the Patriots have really separated themselves from the pack. Part of that was an overtime victory at home against the New York Jets. The Jets, like the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, have faded in recent weeks.
History
Both of these two teams are coming off wins on Sunday. The Patriots were really impressive in a 59-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts. The biggest story coming out of that win though was the broken arm suffered by Rob Gronkowski suffered on the final extra point of the game with the Pats firmly ahead. This gives Tom Brady one less weapon in his arsenal.
The Jets put together a good game going on the road to beat the St. Louis Rams 27-13. Much-maligned quarterback Mark Sanchez is seemingly off the hook for a week and the controversy over anonymous remarks made about backup quarterback Tim Tebow seemed to have died down after the Jets win. Another win over the Patriots would put the Jets right back into the playoff mix at 5-6. So this game is a big one for them.
The Patriots don't want to coast either, though they have a three game lead. They are still in the running for the best record in the AFC with the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos. The Texans are at the Detroit Lions earlier on Thanksgiving Day, so the Pats might go into the game knowing a win puts them within a game of tying for the lead in the race for best record.
The Jets and Pats have a long time rivalry going all the way back to their days in the old AFL in the 1960s. The series could not be much tighter with the Patriots leading 53-52-1. One of the interesting facts about the rivalry that people may have forgotten is that Patriots coach Bill Belichick was supposed to take over as coach of the Jets after Bill Parcells stepped down, but then surprised all of football by taking the Patriots job. The result has been three Super Bowls and five AFC Titles for the Patriots while the Jets have still not gotten back to the big game since Super Bowl III.
Also, Eric Mangini, the offensive coordinator of some of those first Super Bowl teams under Belichick, angered his old boss by taking the Jets head coaching job. This led to the former best friends no longer speaking to each other. The rivalry really heated up when the Jets got the Pts in trouble for spying on Jets practices.
Our Pick
Os it is safe to assume there is no love lost between the two teams. Bodog has the Patriots -7. Pinnacle has the Patriots -6.5 1.935 or 1.357. The Jets are +6.5 1.990 or 3.480. Over/Under is 48. We are going to go with the Jets +6.5 and the over.
Now that the NFL Network is on most cable systems, we'll all get to watch the game this year. Three NFL games on Thanksgiving Day, all good match-ups. That's something to be thankful for.
