NEW UPDATE (JAN 19/2018): Tom Brady Hand Injury Impacts Patriots Odds
How about them Jacksonville Jaguars? Blake Bortles and the Jags find themselves in the AFC Championship after kicking the butts of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round, but can they do it again against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots? Or will Brady show the Jags why New England is a dynasty? Folks, we can’t believe we are saying this, but on Sunday, it’s going to be Blake Bortles vs. Tom Brady.
Betting Preview for the Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots AFC Conference Championship Game on January 21 2018
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro
When: Sunday, January 21, 2018 4:05 PM EST
Line: Jacksonville Jaguars (+8) vs New England Patriots (-8) – view all 2018 NFL lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6)
The Jaguars did not just cover the their spread as seven-point underdogs against Pittsburgh at Heinz Field last Saturday. They beat the Steelers, 45-42. There are plenty of people out there that still did not respect the Jaguars heading into that game, but they should have been silenced right now by Leo Fournette and company. The Jags are officially good – in the postseason.
Jacksonville needs to be even better against the much-experienced squad in the form of the Patriots, who are always going to be tough to beat at Foxborough. That said, the Jaguars are 3-1 SU in their last four road games as underdogs. In addition, they are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games when they were away from Jacksonville and were underdogs at the same time.
Fournette, who rushed for 109 yards and three touchdowns in the Divisional Round, will be the Jags’ top offensive weapon versus New England, but it should also be noted that Jacksonville’s pass rush will be key in slowing down the Pats’ offense. The Jaguars finished the regular season second in sacks with 55.0 quarterback takedowns.
Betting on the New England Patriots (13-3)
Barely anyone was surprised that the Patriots beat Tennessee in the Divisional Round. Tom Brady is still Tom Brady, and the future Hall of Famer toyed with the Titans’ defense, passing for 337 yards (35/53 completions) and three touchdowns without an interception in a 35-14 win. He is still great, fellas.
Jacksonville’s pass defense is no joke but if Ben Roethlisberger could throw for an insane total of 469 yards and five touchdowns against just a single interception in the Divisional Round, why can’t Brady?
The Patriots also have a dependable backfield that produced 101 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Titans game, so that’s something they could put rely on to in trying to bore a hole through Jacksonville’s stop unit that ranked only 21st against the run in the regular season.
And to illustrate further how difficult is has been for opposing teams to beat New England in New England, consider the following pieces of facts: the Patriots are 7-0 SU in their last seven home games in the postseason as favorites, going 6-1 ATS in those outings.
Writer’s Prediction:
New England spares the sport of football from Blake Bortles playing in the Super Bowl with a 28-24 win.
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