Thursday Night Football features an AFC East clash for the second straight week, this time pitting the New England Patriots against the New York Jets. From a sports betting perspective, I'm heading to PrizePicks to get some skin in the game. Below I've listed my three favorite prop bets for Thursday's divisional contest. This trio provides a +550 payout if you opt for the PrizePicks Power Play.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
Get instant alerts when a line reaches your target via the BettingPros App >>
Thursday Night Football features an AFC East clash for the second straight week, this time pitting the New England Patriots against the New York Jets. From a sports betting perspective, I'm heading to PrizePicks to get some skin in the game. Below I've listed my three favorite prop bets for Thursday's divisional contest. This trio provides a +550 payout if you opt for the PrizePicks Power Play.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
Get instant alerts when a line reaches your target via the BettingPros App >>
Best NFL PrizePicks Player Projections
(Props courtesy of PrizePicks)
The Jets have been a pretty mediocre offense through the first two weeks, averaging 21.5 points per game (14th). However, I think this could be a breakout spot for New York, as they square off against Jarod Mayo and his New England bunch. Mayo will have to implement a game plan on a short week while also traveling. This will be his first time doing so as a head coach, so I'm a bit wary of whether he'll find success in this spot.
With all of that being said, I think Aaron Rodgers could go off in this standalone primetime game. This is a favorable matchup against a New England secondary that entered the season ranked 21st, per PFF. The defense as a whole has failed to generate pressure, logging a pressure rate of just 16.9%. That's just 27th in the NFL. Rodgers will likely have plenty of time behind his top-tier offensive line, which should give him the opportunity to pick apart the Patriots’ pass defense. I'll take A-Rodge to clear 215.5 passing yards on Thursday night.
Well, if I believe that Rodgers is going to find success through the air on Thursday night, then this demon prop correlates nicely as a second leg. I'm taking Garrett Wilson to score a touchdown. Wilson has yet to find the endzone this year, but I think the drought will end in Week 3.
The lack of scoring hasn't been due to Rodgers not getting him the ball. Wilson leads the team with 17 targets through the first two weeks, and his 17 targets are the 14th-most in the NFL. It's only a matter of time until this duo connects for six points.
As I mentioned above, this should be a good spot at home for the Jets. The Patriots' defense is 17th in yards allowed per pass attempt at 6.4. They're just 26th in opponent completion percentage, allowing their opposition to connect on 73.97% of their passes! This is a New York offense that's throwing the ball quite a bit at 59.05% (11th), so they're primed to take advantage of New England's defense. In my opinion, the numbers point to Wilson hauling in a touchdown in this divisional tilt.
This prop play on Rhamondre Stevenson's over feels like a slam dunk. The running back has cleared this number twice in two games, registering 25 totes against the Bengals in Week 1 and following it up with 21 carries against the Seahawks last weekend. In three career games against the Jets, Stevenson has reached 16 rushing attempts twice (19, 16), while landing on 15 attempts once.
New England's best chance to stay competitive in games is by running the football and chewing up the clock. That appears to be the strategy this season for Coach Mayo, as his offense is running the ball on 57.69% of their plays. That's the fifth-most in the NFL.
While New York brings in a highly-touted defense, they haven't lived up to the hype just yet. Specifically, they've been gashed on the ground, conceding 180 rushing yards to San Francisco before allowing 130 rushing yards to Tennessee. Look for New England to lean on the run game heavily in this matchup where they're an underdog. This should provide Stevenson with plenty of touches, and for our sake, let's hope it's at least 17 totes.
