Early NFL Trend Could Favor Patriots Against Jets, Rest Of Season

The Patriots probably aren't going to be favored in that many games this season, but that could serve to benefit them based on the first two weeks of the season.

Thousands of entries from the Circa Survivor contest quickly were eliminated in the first two weeks of the season with bettors putting a lot of faith in heavy favorites. New England upsetting the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 was part of many losing wagers, and Week 2 wasn't great for perceived one-sided matchups.

VSiN host Matt Youmans told Sports Illustrated that "underdogs of six points or more are 8–0 against the spread through the first two weeks." The Patriots are 6.5-point underdogs to the New York Jets this week, and it could be a trap spot for those who believe New England will fall to its division rival."

"People generally don't like to use the Thursday night game in a contest," Circa vice president of operations Mike Palm told Sports Illustrated. "But the Jets are at home against the Patriots and are 6-point favorites, so you might see a higher percentage than normal."

Youmans advised people to not pick the Jets since they only narrowly defeated the Tennessee Titans on the road last Sunday.

The Patriots hope to surprise the NFL and show they're better than they were projected to be. But if underdogs continue to pull off wins, that only serves to benefit the Patriots to ride that trend into Thursday and for the rest of the season.