The New England Patriots host the New York Jets on “Thursday Night Football,” kicking off at 8:25 p.m. ET. The Patriots opened as 7.5-point favorites, but the line quickly ballooned to as much as 10 points at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Patriots have struggled a bit this season and are sitting at 3-3 against the spread through the first six weeks. The Jets, on the other hand, have yet to cover through six games, sitting at 0-5-1 ATS. The Patriots have had a solid run of home success, sitting at 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games. However, they have gone 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games against the Jets. Additionally, the Jets covered in both games last season.
The total is set between 44 and 45 points at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The total has gone OVER in six of the Patriots’ last seven games, and it also has gone over in eight of the Patriots’ last nine games against the Jets. The OddsShark computer is predicting a 32-20 Patriots victory, which would cover the spread and the total.
The Patriots will be without starting middle linebacker Jerod Mayo and starting running back Stevan Ridley, both of whome suffered knee injuries last week. The Patriots will replace Mayo with some combination of Jamie Collins, Dont?a Hightower and Deontae Skinner, among others. Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden will get the bulk of the work in place of Ridley, with James White also having opportunities.
The sportsbooks also have released updated Super Bowl odds, and they have adjusted the Patriots from 10-1 to 11-1. That is likely due in part to these two significant injuries. That being said, they improved from 1-3 to 1-8 to win the AFC East following Sunday’s win over the Buffalo Bills.
The Jets will be without two reserves, with linebacker Trevor Reilly and wide receiver Greg Salas ruled out. Eric Decker is listed as probable; he was questionable in Week 6 and played, so he should be good to go this week after getting in two limited practices, followed by a full practice.
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