Sam Darnold may or may not be the future face of the New York Jets franchise, but he’ll look to offer a glimpse of what he can do under center this Friday in a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are still a Super Bowl contender, but will they be good enough to win it all next season? Read on for a pre view of this interesting showdown in East Rutherford on Friday night.
The last time the Falcons met the Jets, Atlanta stopped a three-game skid with a 25-20 win at MetLife Stadium back in Week 8 of the last season. Not much is on the line this Friday, but the Falcons aim to record -to-back wins (sort of) against the Jets. Perhaps more intriguing for Atlanta is its search for the player it will plug as starter in the right guard slot. That’s one thing that will be worked upon this Friday, with Wes Schweitzer and Brandon Fusco battling for the spot. While Schweitzer is currently ahead of Fusco in the depth chart, the latter is considered as the team’s splashiest free-agent acquisition, so he’s definitely in the conversation. Atlanta had one of the best protection units a season ago in the league with just 24 sacks allowed.
The under is 3-1 in Atlanta’s last preseason contest run.
Betting on the New York Jets (-3.5)
Two words: Sam Darnold. The Jets seem to be in a perpetual search for a franchise quarterback, who stabilize the team for the long haul. That could be Darnold, who was taken by the Jets in the first round of this year’s draft as the third-overall selection. Jets nation can see Darnold sling the ball for the first time in a real NFL game setting this Friday. Darnold, however, isn’t a lock to start for the Jets this coming season, with veterans Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater also vying for the starting role. Like the Falcons, the Jets will also use Friday’s game to gauge the pieces of their offensive line that didn’t do its job last season, when it allowed the seventh-most sacks in the NFL with 47.
The Jets are 5-1 ATS in their last six preseason games at home.
