Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) at New York Jets (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS)
Sunday September 18th, 2011. 1:00PM EST, NFL Week 2
MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, NJ
By Jay Horne, NFL Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: Jax +10/NYJ -10
Over/Under Total: 37.5
The New York Jets captured a thrilling come from behind win last Sunday night over the Dallas Cowboys 27-24. The Jets took advantage of some late 4th quarter Dallas Cowboys mistakes and rallied to score 17 unanswered points to steal the victory. This week the Jets have the luxury of hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars in an AFC showdown when the two teams battle at MetLife Stadium. The visiting Jaguars are also riding into East Rutherford after a close win over the Titans last week 16-14. The Jaguars jumped out in front of Tennessee 13-0 early, but had to hold off the charging Titans late to score their first victory of the season. This week Jacksonville enters as big 10 point underdogs as they attempt to get to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2006 season.
Early betting action already shows that nearly 2/3 of the betting public is siding with the Jets to cover this Sunday as they perhaps try to build off of that 4th quarter momentum against Dallas. QB Mark Sanchez had a strong season debut by completing 26 of 44 passing for 335 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 pick. The Jets had 3 different receivers to reach 70 yards receiving including RB LaDainian Tomlinson, WR Plaxico Burress, and WR Santonio Holmes. The Jets running game only managed 45 yards on the ground. However, Tomlinson did find a way to be effective catching passes out of the backfield. If Tomlinson continues to make those types of plays to aid the passing attack, it will provide better opportunities for both Holmes and Burress. Both receivers are proven veterans that will only get better as the season progresses.
The Jets offense undoubtedly proved they will be a force to be reckoned with this season. However, there were also a few concerns to emerge from last Sunday’s battle with Dallas. The Jets secondary gave up 326 passing yards to the Cowboys offense last week and gave up a couple of big plays throughout the night as well. The Jets were stellar defensively against the pass in 2010 and hope to shake off the rusty start as they move forward against another solid offense in Jacksonville. Fortunately, the New York defensive pass rush should help ease any concerns in the secondary. The Jets defensive line camped out in the Dallas backfield last week. The Jets not only captured 4 sacks but also put enough pressure on Romo to force a few turnovers at the same time. If the New York defensive front can get pressure on QB Luke McCown this week, they could have the opportunity to force a few more turnovers again.
However, McCown impressed a lot of people last week in his opening debut for the Jaguars. McCown completed 17 of 24 passing for 175 yards without any touchdowns or any interceptions. The spark in the passing game should be encouraging for Jaguars’ fans. Over the last few years, Jacksonville has primarily move the football on the ground through running back Maurice Jones-Drew. If Jacksonville can get some consistency from the passing game that they hope to have found in McCown, it could really take the offense to new heights.
Jones-Drew did not exactly disappoint last week either as he proved that he will still be the biggest concern for opposing defenses. Jones-Drew racked up 94 yards on 24 carries with 1 touchdown on the afternoon. Expect the Jets defense to really put an emphasis on stopping the Jaguars rushing attack this week considering the success the Jaguars have had running the football. Therefore, McCown will need to have a repeat performance and possibly make some even bigger plays this week in the passing game to thwart that Jets defense.
Jay’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: – NFL double digit dogs have historically been a bad bet and I’m not about to go astray from that now. Take the Jags plus all those juicy points.
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