NFL Picks: Patriots and Jets Collide on Thursday Night Football

NFL Picks: After winning their season opener against an Oakland Raiders team that is among the worst in the NFL, the New York Jets have nosedived with five consecutive losses. With Geno Smith behind center their quarterbacking woes have exploded into a full blown crisis that looks like it cannot be solved this season. Since being blown out in a 41-14 loss at Kansas City the New England Patriots have shut up their critics with two straight wins in impressive fashion as QB Tom Brady has proven to not be washed up.

In the renewal of a rivalry that goes all the way back to 1960 and the founding of the old American Football League, the Patriots will host the Jets at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night with coverage on CBS starting at 8:25 PM ET. New England opened as a nine point favorite with a total of 46.5.

Jets Crash and Burn

The Jets are 1-5 straight up, 0-5-1 against the spread, and 3-3 on totals. The Jets were bombed out in a 31-17 home loss to Denver last week and rank dead last in the NFL for passing. Smith has a 69.7 QB rating with a 6-7 TD-INT ratio. The Jets rank sixth in the NFL for total defense which is their one betting asset.

Resurgent Pats

The Patriots are 4-2 SU, 3-3 ATS, and 4-2 over the total after a 37-22 payout at Buffalo last week. New England boasts the NFL’s fifth ranked defense and Brady has improved his QB rating to 95.1 with a 10-2 TD-INT ratio.

Matchup and Pick

The Jets have struggled to maintain good betting value on the road with just seven payouts in their last 17 away games as six out of their last nine road games have gone over the total. New England has covered eight out of their last 10 home games with seven out of their last nine home games going over the total.

The Jets have covered the spread in three out of their last four meetings with the Patriots as eight out of the last nine meetings in this head to head series have gone over the total. The Jets have also covered 13 out of their last 19 games at New England including three out of their most recent four visits to Gillette Stadium with just one out of the last seven meetings at New England between the Jets and Patriots going under the total. We’ll call for the Jets and over the total.