BOARD THE JETS
Darnold & Gang will reel in Fins
JETS fans right now are feeling a little like Chevy Chase in “Vacation” when he was deciding whether to go skinny dipping with Christie Brinkley at the motel pool with his family upstairs.
“This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy,” Clark W. Griswold mumbled to himself, before ultimately taking the plunge.
In Sam Darnold, the quarterback of their dreams may finally have arrived. But some Jets fans, particularly those who bet, may be a little hesitant to dip anything more than a big toe into the water, remembering how many times they’ve been suckered into believing by a game like the 48-17 road demolition of the Lions on Monday night, only to be left shattered. Add in that Week 2 in the NFL is the epicenter of overreaction, and there’s some rightful concern about Sunday’s home opener vs. the Dolphins, which jumped from pick ’em to Jets -3.
Even against that backdrop, it isn’t crazy to dive in with the Jets, if not headfirst, then at least for this week. Monday night was more than just about Darnold’s bounceback from the first-play pick-six, it also was about a physical running game on offense, and quickness to the ball and (finally) a bunch of takeaways on defense.
There’s nothing scary about the Dolphins. Last season they were 1-7 against the spread on the road, and the Jets are 7-1-1 ATS in their past nine at MetLife. The pick: Jets -3.
Giants (+3) over COWBOYS: It was a disappointing opening loss for the Giants vs. the Jaguars, but there were a few plays that just missed — likely a byproduct of the new offense playing together for the first time. Eli Manning will hit a few more of those against the Dallas D, and t he Giants s hould be able to corral Ezekiel E l l io tt w i th - out much of a Cowboys passing threat to contend with.
Eagles (-3) over BUCCANEERS: The Eagles have extra rest off the Thursday nighter, and this spread is well south of what it would have been if not for the Bucs’ shocker at the Superdome. Ryan Fitzpatrick will run into a much tougher defense here.
Texans (-2) over TITANS: Deshaun Watson had to shake off some rust in his opener, a seven- point l oss at New England. Still thinking the Texans will be a major factor in the AFC and that this is a good locale for a bounceback.
Colts (+6) over REDSKINS: This line doubled in reaction to the Colts’ loss to the Bengals and Redskins’ win at Arizona. Playing the overreaction card here and counting on Andrew Luck to keep the Colts within sniffing distance in Game 2 of his comeback.
Vikings (+2) over PACKERS: Having to make this choice on Thursday, it’s hard to give the nod to the Packers not knowing Aaron Rodgers’ status. The Vikings would devour DeShone Kizer. And in the first half vs. the Bears, before the injury, Rodgers did nothing.
Browns (+ 9) over SAINTS: In Jarvis Landry a nd J osh Gordon, t he Browns have the offense to score a bunch
of points against a Saints defense that gave up 48 points to the Bucs. New Orleans’ September stumbles are becoming an annual event.
Chiefs (+4¹/₂) over STEELERS: In their last visit to Pittsburgh in 2016, the Chiefs lost 43-14. Then they lost twice more to the Steelers at Arrowhead in the 2016 playoffs and last season. With a spread a little heftier than expected, we’ll pounce on KC with the feeling Patrick Mahomes will make the Chiefs’ offense even more lethal than Alex Smith did.
Panthers (+5¹/₂) over FALCONS: Seems like a hefty number for a divisional game with the favorite off a loss and ’dog off a win. Matt Ryan eventually will figure out how to cash in his numerous red-zone chances, but Cam Newton will be able to take advantage of the absences of Falcons Pro Bowlers Keanu Neal and Deion Jones.
Chargers (-7¹/₂) over BILLS: After a 47-3 loss at Baltimore, the Bills now face a Chargers team that’s expected to challenge for the AFC West title but lost its opener at home to the Chiefs. They won’t
get to t orment Nathan Peterman, whom they intercepted f ive times in the first half of a 54-24 rout in 2017. But the Bills could turn into an epic dumpster fire very quickly.
Cardinals (+13) over RAMS: We’re 1-0 betting double-digit ’dogs (Bucs over Saints) and will try it again here with Steve Wilks coaching his second career game. The Rams have the short turnaround after the hard-fought, extra-late Monday nighter in Oakland and may not be up for the total kill of a divisional foe.
49ERS (- 6) over Lions: Wasn’t quite ready to give this many with the 49ers, particularly with Jimmy Garoppolo going against a coach who knows him well. But the Lions have a terrible recent history on long trips, and this one comes on a short week to boot. Matt Patricia can begin to clean up the mess next week.
Raiders (+6) over BRONCOS: Jon Gruden’s offense looked great in the f irst half before the Rams’ D stiffened. If only he could locate Amari Cooper. Grabbing the sizable spread here in what shapes up as a f inal-possession game.
Patriots (-1) over JAGUARS: Blake Bortles’ runpass option isn’t as potent without a healthy Leonard Fournette, and Bill Belichick has had almost nine months to figure out how to defend it.
MONDAY
BEARS (- 3) over Seahawks: The Bears played a terrible second half in Green Bay, but it’s clear they have a lot of weapons on both sides of the ball. Russell Wilson could not afford to lose Doug Baldwin. BEST BETS: Patriots, Giants, Texans. LOCK OF THE WEEK: Patriots (Locks 1-0 in 2018). LAST WEEK; 9-6-1 overall, 2-1 Best Bets. THURSDAY NIGHT: Bengals (W).