Jets open as 1 point favorites vs Jaguars

The New York Jets look to bounce back from a tough home loss to the Detroit Lions and get back on the winning track at home against the Jaguars on Thursday Night Football

The New York Jets are coming off another heartbreaking loss, this time to the Detroit Lions, on Sunday. The loss was the Jets’ fifth loss in their last seven games, all coming by a single score. After taking their first lead in the game with less than five minutes to play, the Jets’ defense, which had played an outstanding game up to that point, made one terrible play, allowing a 51 yard catch and run touchdown pass on 4th down that gave the Lions the lead for good. A final Jets drive ended with a last gasp 58 yard field goal attempt that Greg Zuerlein missed after the Jets’ coaches badly mismanaged the clock. This, in the end, is what this Jets team is. They have no room for error. Nearly every game is tight. Nearly every game they have an outstanding defense which is good enough to make the game winnable. And nearly every game they have a poor offense bad enough to make the game losable. Ultimately the Jets are a .500 team right now, and that feels like exactly what this talented but flawed team deserves.

The loss to the Lions brought the Jets’ record for the 2022 NFL season to 7-7. Losses by other teams kept the Jets in the wild card race for now, but the Jets will probably need to win their final three games to have a shot. Nothing about how the Jets are playing right now gives me much confidence that a 3-0 run to end the regular season is in the cards, but you never know; stranger things have happened. If that unlikely three game winning streak is in the cards, the Jets will need to regroup quickly as they will be taking on Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars in just a few days on Thursday Night Football.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the New York Jets open as 1 point favorites over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night. That 1 point spread seems reasonable. Almost every game the Jets play lately seems like a squeaker, why should this one be any different? Trevor Lawrence has really begun to emerge as a top talent at quarterback, but the Jets defense is good enough to give him trouble. The question is, is the Jets offense good enough to give the Jaguars defense trouble? The Jaguars have done a decent job stopping the run this year, while struggling to stop the pass. Can Zach Wilson (or Mike White if he recovers quickly from his broken ribs) move the ball enough to get the Jets a win here? Maybe.

Can the Jets win this game? Sure they can. And the Jets can just as easily lose. With Trevor Lawrence suddenly looking really, really good, and Zach Wilson not so much, I expect another squeaker. I’ll take the Jets here because they’re home, and the Jets defense, combined with expected atrocious weather from an expected noreaster Thursday night in northern New Jersey, should turn this into a defensive struggle that favors the better defensive team – the Jets. The Jets have won three of the last five games between these two teams. Make it four of six.

The moneyline odds are New York Jets -115/Jacksonville Jaguars -105.

The Over/Under for the game is 39.5.

What do you think Jets fans? Will the Jets beat the odds in this game?