It’s hard to imagine the season starting much worse than it has for the New York Jets. They lose their prized quarterback early in the opener and slide to 1-3 within the first month of play. But if any team can match the Jets in the misery index, it might just be the Denver Broncos, another team that’s skidding to a 1-3 start despite some high hopes coming into the season.
Now, these two teams will meet this weekend with the Jets landing in Denver for a showdown that could have major implications for the top of the draft order this spring. The Broncos are favored here by 2.5 points. Kickoff for this one is at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Jets vs. Broncos, Week 5: Pick against the spread
The Jets are 2-2 against the spread this season, fresh off a surprising cover against the Chiefs last week, with Kansas City struggling to take that one by a 23-20 final. Prior to that, they lost by five to the Patriots and 20 to the Cowboys.
A big part of the problem for Gang Green is at quarterback; they’re now stuck with Zach Wilson under center. Though he did have a better stat line than Patrick Mahomes in that last game. Still, the Jets passing offense is only mustering 157 yards per game, ranked 31st. The strength of their defense is one positive here; that unit’s allowing an average of just 21 points per game, ranked 14th.
Denver’s coming into this one on a high note, having secured their first win of the season last week, overcoming a 21-point deficit to beat the Bears. That was the second time they’ve been able to top 30 points in a game this season. And the 28 points that Chicago scored were the second-lowest total Denver’s defense allowed this season, and a much better effort than the 70 points they gave up to the Dolphins a week before that.
The Broncos are 0-3-1 against the spread so far this season. I’m going with the Jets here on the strength of their defense.