The highly anticipated Aaron Rodgers era for the Jets begins in the Monday night opener hosting the Buffalo Bills, who have won the AFC East the last three seasons.
Even with four-time MVP Rodgers the Bills come into Monday night as a 1.5-point road betting favorite with the total sitting at 45.5. the public has been backing Buffalo, as they opened as a 1-point favorite and as Friday morning are at -1.5.
Last season the Bills were 8-9-1 ATS with an O/U record of 7-11 and the Jets were 8-9 ATS with an O/U record of 5-12.
Last season these two AFC East rivals split their two games with each winning at home with the Jets covering the spread both times.
Super Bowl or Bust
The Bills have been Super Bowl contenders for the last three seasons but have not even reached the AFC title game in the last two seasons.
Josh Allen is a legit star QB and he put up some solid numbers this season but has a lot of pressure on him and did not play great in the two games facing the Jets last season.
Allen has Stefon Diggs, who had another solid season with 1,429 yards with 11 TD, and Gabe Diggs (836 yards 7 TD) is back as well.
Devin Singletary led the team in rushing last season, with Allen ranking second, but he is now with the Houston Texans and James Cook (507 yards) will be the lead back.
While the Jets were not a good team last season, they did beat the Bills once and they had nothing at the QB. On top of that their D was good ranking third in the league against the pass and 17th against the run. In this game the Buffalo D will be facing a solid Jets’ offensive line and if they cannot get to Rodgers will he hark back to his MVP days from not long ago?
All About Rodgers
Ok, just look above, as the Jets had a good D last season and now finally have a QB that has four MVPs on his resume. Rodgers did not have the best last season but is only one season removed from his last MVP and the Jets season, and this game, hinge on if he can get back to solid form.
While Rodgers has gotten all the press how about the run game? Breece Hall was having a great season last year before being lost with a knee injury and the team picked up Dalvin Cook, who was released by the Vikings after four straight 1,000+ yard seasons. I mean, the run game has a high ceiling, as Hall led the team last season with only 463 yards missing 10 games.
The WR corps has Garett Wilson, who had over 1,100 receiving yards last season and a couple of Rodgers’ favorites from Green Bay in Alan Lazard and Randall Cobb.
The Buffalo defense has playmakers and while Von Miller is out they still should be legit and last season ranked sixth in the league defending the run and 14th defending the pass.
Trends
Last season the Jets were 2-6 ATS, but did cover at home facing the Bills, and Buffalo was only 1-7 ATS on the road.