New York Jets
vs.
Detroit Lions
Preview
9/10/18
By: Jason Green
New York Jets (0-0 SU 0-0 ATS) vs. Detroit Lions (0-0 SU 0-0 ATS)
In the first Monday night Game of the season the Detroit Lions host the New York Jets in a non-Conference matchup. The Jets named rookie Sam Darnold the starter for the season and the Jets are really hoping the #3 pick in the last draft can come through, as they have not had a legit QB in many years. Darnold has a lot of pressure on him this season to be the savior for the Jets’ fraNChise, but at least in this Game he faces a Detroit pass defense that only ranked 27th in the league last season even though they ranked 4th with 19 INT.
The Lions have a new head coach in Matt Patricia, who inherits a team that went 9-7 last season, but did not make the playoffs. Same old song and daNCe for Detroit last season with Stafford racking up a lot of passing yards, but failing to get much help. They made some moves to bolster their run Game, which ranked dead last in the league last season only averaging 76.3 rushing yards per Game.
At 5Dimes sportsbook the Lions are a 6.5-point favorite with a total sitting at 45.
Last season the Jets were 9-6-1 ATS and they had an Over/Under record of 8-8 and the Lions were 8-7-1 ATS and they had an Over/Under record of 10-6.
These teams have not met since the 2016 season.
The Lions have covered the spread in three of their last Four home Games.
Darnold will have a pretty good WR to work with led by Robby Anderson, who had 941 receiving yards and seven TD last season. However, the WR corps will be a little shorthanded with Jermaine Kearse out for this Game with an abdominal injury. New York does not feature a great RB and the top back is Bilal Powell, who rushed for 772 yards last season.
Last season the Jets did not rank in the top 20 in league in pass or run defense. They made some moved to improve their D, but not many, and the main addition is CB Trumaine Johnson, who had two picks for the Rams last season. The secondary and pass rush will be key for the Jets’ D in this Game facing Stafford.
Stafford had another solid year last season passing for 4,446 yards with 29 TD and 11 INT. Marvin Jones Jr. and Golden Tate are his top two targets and last season each player had over 1,000 receiving yards and they combined for 14 TD. The aerial attack will be there for Detroit, but can they run the ball? The team added veteran LeGArette Blount and used their 2nd round draft pick to take RB Kerryon Johnson.
New New York head coach Patricia is a former defensive coordinator and takes over a defense that only ranked 27th in the league last season.
Key Betting Trends
Jets
2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 road Games
9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 Games
Under record of 7-3 in their last 10 road Games
Lions
5-1 ATS in their last 6 Monday night Games
4-1 ATS in their last 5 Week 1 Games
Over record of 7-2 in their last 9 home Games
Jason’s Pick: Darnold will have a good Game, but make some rookie mistakes. On the other side of the coin Stafford will have a big Game in the air. The Jets will see some promise in their new fraNChise QB, but it will not equal a win in his pro debut, as the Lions will win this Game at home and cover the spread.