Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have a revenge game against the New York Jets, although the history says a statement win might not be in the offing.
With the Jets going back to league interceptions leader Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Patriots are 8.5-point favorites on the NFL point spreads for Sunday at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. New England lost its most recent meeting against the Jets on the road last December, but they are 16-2 straight-up after losing the previous game of a matchup.
However, they are 0-5-1 against the spread in their last six games against the Jets.
Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (chest) is considered questionable, but TE Martellus Bennett is a great option and the Patriots are also re-integrating RB Dion Lewis into Brady’s arsenal of receivers. In nine starts against the Patriots, Fitzpatrick’s teams are 2-7 SU and the Harvard product has thrown 17 interceptions. However, most teams are able to enjoy some offensive production against New England, which lacks a quality pass rush.
The Atlanta Falcons are favored by four points against the Arizona Cardinals. Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ prolific offense will have to be patient against the Cardinals, who have allowed an NFL-low seven touchdown passes. Cardinals RB David Johnson will be beastly against the Falcons, but one should keep an eye on how Arizona delegates duties if head coach Bruce Arians (chest pains) is not on the sideline.
The Denver Broncos are the 3.5-point favorite against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Sunday Night Football matchup. The Broncos have regained CB Aqib Talib and DE Derek Wolfe, while the status of Kansas City’s shutdown CB Marcus Peters (hip) is up in the air. The Chiefs, who were upset by Tampa Bay in Week 11, are 1-4 ATS in their last five games after losing as the favorite.
The Seattle Seahawks are favored by five points against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers are 3-8 SU in their last 11 games after winning as the underdog. Leading receiver Mike Evans will also have Seahawks CB Richard Sherman in his face. Tampa Bay is thin in defensive backs, so there should be some mismatches available to Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.
The Houston Texans host the San Diego Chargers in a pick’em. The Chargers, coming off a bye, could pose problems for the porous Texans run defense and QB Philip Rivers excels at beating the blitz. Houston is 5-0 SU and 4-0-1 ATS in their last five home games, but erratic QB Brock Osweiler going against a pass defense with 11 interceptions (third in the NFL) might be a shaky proposition for bettors.
The week begins with three Thanksgiving Day games.
The Detroit Lions are the 2.5-point favorite against the Minnesota Vikings. Lions QB Matthew Stafford has a tough test against one of the NFL’s best pass defenses. The Vikings are 9-2 SU and ATS in their last 11 games as a underdog of 2.5 points or less.
The Dallas Cowboys are the 6.5-point favorite against the Washington Redskins. Washington is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games as an underdog of seven points or less and QB Kirk Cousins is facing a Cowboys pass defense which has a paltry four interceptions.
And the Pittsburgh Steelers are favored by three points on the road against the Indianapolis Colts. The matchup of 5-5 teams could be predicated on what crumbles first: Pittsburgh’s pass defense against Colts QB Andrew Luck or Indianapolis’ run defense against Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell.
