The New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys are both in dire straits heading down the stretch of the season, and both need a win on Saturday night in a bad way to keep their playoff hopes reasonably alive. Live bettors though, should be ready for a slugfest with a lot of long drives and potentially very few points.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
New York Jets -2.5
Dallas Cowboys +2.5
Over/Under 43
ODDS ANALYSIS
We can all see what the plan is for both of these teams without doing much digging. Both clubs want to run the ball to setup what little passing game they really bring to the table, and they're both going to do so without getting all that creative. Darren McFadden and Chris Ivory are both downhill, between the tackles runners, and though that's often the most efficient way to run the ball to ensure forward progress, it often results in a slow plod down the field instead of those big game-changing plays which mess up live bettors so often.
That said, it shouldn't be surprising that the total in this game has already come down a point and a half from the already low 43 to 41.5 where it sits as of Wednesday morning.
The Jets opened at -2.5 and moved to -3 fairly quickly, but the oddsmakers have been reluctant to move the line to -3.5, further proof that the Cowboys might be live underdogs.
WHEN THE NEW YORK JETS HAVE THE BALL
Almost quietly, Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown for 930 yards and nine touchdowns in his last three games, and most importantly, he hasn't been picked off in that stretch. It isn't often that the Harvard grad can go one game without shooting himself in the foot, let alone three.
However, life isn't all rosy in Gang Green land. This offense has still had plenty of moments where it just looks stagnant, and as we already stated in the opening, when it falls behind the chains with negative plays on first down, it's tough to move the ball.
For all they've done poorly this year, the Cowboys defense hasn't been bad at all. Sure, you'll see 23.5 points per game allowed and cringe, but let's not forget that turnovers and general bad offense have been the cause of a lot of those points.
WHEN THE DALLAS COWBOYS HAVE THE BALL
This is where live bettors really have to be concerned for the Cowboys. They ran the ball for 171 yards last week against Green Bay in spite of the fact that they trailed literally the entire way. Matt Cassel threw for just 114 yards and a TD, and he was sacked a couple times as well.
The Dallas offensive line is going to have its hands full against a great New York front, but that isn't the real problem.
The issue here is the lack of getting the ball in the hands of Dez Bryant. Cassel seems to know where Jason Witten is at all times, and that's a step in the right direction. However, he can't leave Bryant out to dry by hitting him with just one pass for six yards as was the case last week in Green Bay. The Jets are tough to throw on, but big time receivers have had huge games against them in recent weeks with Darrelle Revis hurting. Revis should be back on Saturday, but that shouldn't stop the Cowboys from trying to go his way.
If Bryant is a big part of this offensive effort, the Cowboys could be steals in live betting. However, it's tough to believe that to be the case knowing just how ineffective he has been all NFL season long.
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