It was nine years ago that the Detroit Lions set an NFL record for futility. They failed to win a regular season game in 2008, becoming the only team to go winless in a 16-game season. In a cruel twist of fate, they had a perfect 4-0 preseason that year, but that doesn’t get mentioned. Many are predicting the 2017 Jets to challenge Detroit’s record as they are undergoing a complete team rebuild. The two will get together in Week 2 of the NFL preseason.
This matchup in Week 2 of the preseason will go down Saturday, August 19, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Ford Field.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
New York Jets +5
Detroit Lions -5
Over/Under 38
Odds Analysis
Another sign of just how bad the Jets are came in the opening line for this contest. Rarely do you see preseason games with a spread higher than 3 points, but the Lions opened at -5. Sure New York won its preseason opener, but it was in less than spectacular fashion and it is the preseason. The Jets are not going to be very good, but the exhibition games are completely different. It’s hard to go against a club getting that many points. The total seems high given New York’s inability to move the football and the under looks like the smart play.
Quarterback Rotation
Todd Bowles continues to say the starting job is up for grabs, but that doesn’t appear to be the case in training camp practice. Josh McCown is the likely starter and solidified his spot by driving the team to the game’s only touchdown in a win over Tennessee in the preseason opener. Christian Hackenberg got plenty of snaps so we can expect to see a lot of New York’s second round pick from 2016 against the Lions.
After completing 2 of 6 passes for 16 yards over the final quarter of play Saturday, it appears as though Bryce Petty has become the underdog in the battle. Petty will play most of the final preseason game, but his snaps will be limited against the Lions. The Jets want to get a good look at Hackenberg and he will likely play a majority of the game.
The Lions need to know what they have backing up Matthew Stafford and we can expect to see plenty of Jake Rudock and Brad Kaaya on Saturday. Stafford played one series against the Colts on Sunday, ending the drive with an interception. He then gave way to Rudock. History suggests that we will see at least one series with Stafford behind center and there could be more.
Rudock and Kaaya both performed well against the Colts with Rudock throwing for 142 yards and two scores and Kaaya adding 71 yards on 8 of 11 passing with another touchdown. Rudock got some reps last preseason but neither player has thrown a regular season pass. Caldwell will get them as much work as he can to make sure his No. 2 is as ready as he can possibly be.
Coaching History
It would behoove Bowles and the Jets to get as many victories as they can during the preseason because they are going to be hard to come by once the regular season starts. Last week’s win wasn’t pretty and that’ll have to be the Jets M.O. all season. It doesn’t matter how it looks if you can get a win. New York played below the total last week and the under is 6-3 in Bowles’ preseason career. With the offense he has it’s best to jump on the under before the totals start falling.
Under Caldwell the Lions have been good in the preseason with a 9-4 SU and ATS record. They have also been a boon to under bettors over that span with the under at 10-3. The teams last met during the 2015 preseason in Detroit with the Lions pulling out a 23-3 victory.
Free ATS Pick
The Jets have a muddied quarterback situation, are without their No. 1 receiver for the season and the run game looks a lot like that of their rival Giants. In other words, it’s going to be a struggle for the Jets to consistently move the football and score points. But they did show last week that a strong defense can win football games.
Bowles is a former defensive coordinator so he knows that side of the football. The Jets were demons against Tennessee last week collecting eight sacks and holding the Titans to 223 total yards. The Lions will have to work for their points but the offense is a bit more polished than that of the Titans right now.
The Lions are settled at the key spots, though they did lose impact defenders Kerry Hyder and Brandon Copeland in last week’s game. Still, they should have enough to stop the Jets, who have no weapons. If the Lions don’t run up the score, the under looks like the smart play.
NFL Odds: Lions 20, Jets 9
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