After a Christmas Eve win over the Buffalo Bills, the New England now boast a 12-3 straight up and 10-5 against the spread record on the season. The Patriots have also covered eight in their last nine games. The New York Jets didn’t have it so good in Week 16, having dropped one by a total of 14-7 to the Los Angeles Chargers. They did however cover as a 7.5-point home underdog, improving their ATS record on the season to 9-5-1, 5-10 SU record be damned.
King Brady and the Patriots remain to be Super Bowl favorites (+225) according to NFL Futures at TopBet.
The Jets have had some opportunities to play spoiler down the stretch here but they have failed thus far, having lost their last three. The offense has been completely anemic since Josh McCown went down with a broken hand. Bryce Petty has been in way over his head and Christian Hackenberg is nowhere to be seen. The defense played pretty well last week against San Diego but Petty could only manage seven points from his offense all afternoon.
So the focus in Week 17 for most Jets fans will be the draft. It would feel pretty great to knock off the Patriots in Foxborough to ruin their playoff standing but the oddsmakers have deemed that highly unlikely. The Cleveland Browns will select first in the summer’s draft. The New York Giants are the most likely team to follow them and then the Colts. Tampa Bay and Houston have just four wins and then there are four teams with five, the Jets being one.
The 49ers have won four in a row to get to five; then there are the Bears and Broncos. There’s a shot the Jets will be picking in the top-five next year but a spot just outside looks to be more likely. The priority in the offseason will be getting a quarterback, whether it’s Kirk Cousins in free agency or a rookie through the draft. That much is obvious.
The Patriots won and covered in Week 16 against the Bills. Tom Brady completed 75 percent of his passes and two touchdowns. He did throw an interception for the fifth game in a row. He’s thrown six in the last five weeks after only two in his first 10 games.
New England has the inside track for the top seed in the AFC. The road to the Super Bowl will, once again, go through New England if the Patriots don’t slip up this week. A win as a 16.5-point favorite gets it done.
Dion Lewis also had a monster game against Buffalo. Rex Burkhead didn’t play, neither did James White. They should both be on their way back before the playoffs begin, especially considering New England has the bye in the first round. Chris Hogan is also going to be available after missing a lot of time in the second half of the season.
Writer’s Prediction
This is a huge line for the New England Patriots to cover, but it will not be a problem for them as they have covered even larger lines down the road. Expect New England’s defense to score some points too. Pick: Patriots (-16.0)
