Jets vs. Patriots: Preview, score prediction for Week 17

New York Jets vs. New England Patriots

The New York Jets are set for their yearly trip to Beatdownville (aka Foxborough, MA) to take on the New England Patriots. 13 out of their last 16 trips have ended in defeat, with an average margin of defeat of 11 points. What makes it worse is that the Patriots have something to play for.

They need to win or have the Steelers lose to get home field advantage, and the Steelers are playing the Browns. Both the Browns and Jets should be easy wins, but the Patriots definitely don’t want to put home field advantage in the hands of the Browns.

The Jets, on the other hand, are young and hungry. They want to prove they can play with the big boys, and to top it off, they can affect the playoffs without being in the playoffs. In addition to that, they got robbed out of a chance to win against the Patriots earlier in the season. Let’s not forget they lost last season 41-3 in Foxborough.

All of this may lead to a close battle, despite teams and the wise guys in Vegas thinking otherwise.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: New England -15
Moneyline: New England -2000, New York +1000
Over/Under: 44

Prediction

New York has played well this season against teams that are bound for the playoffs or still in the playoff hunt. The game against the Patriots may be in Foxborough, but expect more of the same from this young and hungry Jets team.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Jets land QB, Cowboys replace Dez

The Jets may play Christian Hackenberg, and he’s got something to prove. This defense will want to show up against the best quarterback of all-time, and Todd Bowles, fresh off his contract extension, will have something to prove as well. They also have the chance to knock the Patriots down to the number two seed in the Playoffs.

That said, all the signs point to New England, but it won’t be the landslide that people think.

Score Prediction: New York Jets: 24, New England Patriots: 27