Entering play this week the Jaguars are closer to first place than last place in the landfill that is the AFC South. Jacksonville won its last game far from home, knocking off the Bills in London two weeks ago, but the Jags have failed to win a true road game in their last 12 tries. Both of Jacksonville’s win this season have come against AFC East foes, with a victory over Miami their first back in Week 2.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
No line has been posted as of this writing.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Injury concerns surrounding the Jets’ quarterbacks have kept the line off the board. Though New York has struggled the past two weeks, they will be favored by upwards of a touchdown.
KEY INJURIES
Zane Beadles – Suffered a sprained ligament in his right foot during the Jags’ win over Buffalo two weeks ago and is questionable to play Sunday. It’s been a lingering issue for the starting left guard, who’s started every game since joining the club as a free agent in 2014. If Beadles is unable to play, Tyler Shatley or Luke Bowanko would take his place.
Ryan Fitzpatrick – Tore a ligament in the thumb on his non-throwing hand at Oakland last week but returned to practice and is expected to start on Sunday. He will wear a protective glove. Backup Geno Smith suffered a badly bruised left shoulder against the Raiders, but also returned to full practice this week. Both players will be closely monitored during the rest of the week.
KEY MISMATCH
The Jets’ defense will face a similar group of talented offensive players to the one that just blitzed them for 34 points and 451 yards of offense. New York had no answers for Derek Carr, Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper and Latavius Murray in a 34-20 loss at Oakland last week. Carr threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns, Murray ran for 113 yards on 20 carries and Crabtree had seven catches for 102 yards and a score. The Jets did hold Cooper in check, but that was little consolation with the damage inflicted by everyone else. New York entered last week’s game with the No. 2 overall defense. Oakland raced to a 28-6 lead, and the unit did little to keep the Jets in the game. While the Jaguars haven’t been as prolific as Oakland, their playmakers have a striking resemblance. Blake Bortles is a young quarterback with a strong arm and has 15 touchdown passes. T.J. Yeldon is on pace to become the first Jags back to gain 1,000 yards since 2011. Receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns each have over 30 catches and combined to catch 11 of Bortles’ touchdown throws. While the Jets have all the excuses for their poor showing against the Raiders, the fact is their defense looked pitiful the last two weeks giving up 64 points in losses to New England and Oakland.
KEY STAT
0 – New York takeaways in the last two games, both losses. The Jets forced 15 turnovers during their 4-1 start. Jacksonville is minus-3 in turnover differential, but the Jags forced three turnovers and committed just one in their last game.
BETTING ANGLE
The Jaguars spent their bye week watching their next opponent look very beatable. The Jets not only played poorly in a loss to Oakland, but Fitzpatrick injured his thumb and missed most of the game. Their top receiver, Brandon Marshall, injured his ankle and Smith took some big hits. The Jets said Fitzpatrick will start, but he’ll likely need some sort of padding for his injured thumb, which would be awkward for someone who handles the football on every play. A victory over the Jets keeps the Jags in the AFC South race and ties them with Houston and possibly Indy with the most wins, depending on the outcome of the Colts game NFL Sunday afternoon. The Jags not only play the beat up Jets this week, they get the last place Titans twice in the next four games. They also play Baltimore and San Diego. For a team that won just seven games in its first two seasons under coach Gus Bradley, grabbing three wins in the next five games would be a step forward in the rebuilding process.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Jacksonville gained a lot of confidence from the win against Buffalo and, believe it or not, has a real shot to win the division based on how poorly everyone else is playing. The Jags have been more competitive, except for the blowout loss to New England in Week 3, with a solid offense that has kept them in most games. If Bradley, who coordinated the Seahawks defense prior to joining the Jags, can turn the defense around, his team could make some noise. The Jets are offensively challenged right now. Fitzpatrick will start but his injury has to be worrisome. Marshall is running on a bum ankle, if he runs at all on Sunday, and starting center Nick Mangold is recovering from a neck injury. The Jets will turn it up a notch on defense after their disaster last week and squeak by a determined Jags squad.
New York 24, Jacksonville 22
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