Bills Jets Spread

Written by Jack Jones

The New York Jets host the Buffalo Bills Sunday in a critical AFC East showdown. Both teams trail the New England Patriots by two games in the division, and they are each one game out of the sixth and final wild card spot. The Jets have won four straight and six of seven in this series with the Bills, including a 27-11 road victory earlier this month on November 6th. New York outgained Buffalo 348-287, led by 230 passing yards and a touchdown from quarterback Mark Sanchez.

According to the latest NFL odds, New York is a 9-point favorite over Buffalo with a total set of 42 points.

New York

The Jets have been a streaky team this season. They have two winning streaks of two games or more, and two losing streaks of two or more games. New York (5-5, 4-1 home) is looking to put an end to a two-game skid heading into this one. After suffering a crushing loss at home to the New England Patriots, the Jets went on the road last week and lost 17-13 to the Denver Broncos.

New York played a heck of a game defensively against Denver, allowing just 229 total yards. But their defense could not come up with a stop when they needed to most, allowing a 95-yard drive over the final six minutes that was capped off with a Tim Tebow rushing touchdown with 1:06 to play. The Jets managed 318 yards of offense, but Mark Sanchez threw a costly interception that was returned for a touchdown to tie the game at 10-10 late in the third quarter. It was the third pick-6 thrown by Sanchez this season.

This team ranks just 22nd in the NFL in total offense (314.5 yards/game). What’s most surprising is that they are 25th in rushing offense (96.6 yards/game) after being so dominant on the ground last season. Injuries to their backfield haven’t helped matters. Leading rusher Shonn Greene is questionable Sunday with a rib injury, while LaDanian Tomlinson is doubtful with a knee injury. If Sanchez cannot pick up the slack, then the Jets will have to rely once again on a stop unit that ranks 7th in the NFL in total defense (317.0 yards/game).

Buffalo

It has been a tale of two seasons for the Bills this year. Buffalo (5-5, 1-4 away) opened the season 4-1, but they have since dropped four of their last five. They were making all kinds of plays offensively through their first five games, while the defense was coming up with huge turnovers. Now, the offense can’t put points on the board, and the defense is not coming up with those same turnovers. Buffalo has scored an average of 8.7 points/game during their recent three-game losing streak.

The Bills were perhaps at their lowest point of the season last weekend when they lost 35-8 on the road to the Miami Dolphins, who had come into that game with only two wins on the season. Buffalo failed to reach the end zone, getting two field goals and a safety for their only points. Ryan Fitzpatrick went 20 of 39 passing for 209 yards with two interceptions, and he still hasn’t won a game since signing a $59 million, six-year contract last month.

Buffalo still ranks a respectable 14th in total offense (346.4 yards/game). Fitzpatrick is completing 63.6 percent of his passes for 2,285 yards with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He has turned the ball over 12 times in the past six games. Leading rusher Fred Jackson (934 yards, six TD) suffered a calf injury against the Dolphins and is out indefinitely. This is a huge blow to the offense, as he also has 39 receptions for 442 yards. The Bills rank just 26th in total defense (372.4 yards/game).

Betting Trends

The Bills are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games as a road underdog of 3.5-10.0, but 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 road games overall.

The Jets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings with Buffalo, but 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. loss.

Comments

Got something to say?