The Jets are back on the road once again after dropping their home opener in Week 2. They head to Detroit for a showdown with the Lions, with both teams looking to get back above .500.
While the Jets are thrilled to be 1-1, and could easily be 2-0, the Lions haven’t yet lived up to their lofty preseason expectations. They barely eked out a win at home against the Saints to open the season and were trampled by the Bills in Buffalo in Week 2.
They can’t afford to go 1-2, especially when their division looks ripe for the taking — the Packers are a mess, the Bears have major injury concerns, and the Vikings aren’t as convincing as their perfect record suggests.
The Lions enter this game as a 6.5-point favorite with the Over/Under sitting as high as 48 total points.
Jets vs. Lions prediction, best bet
The benefit of having low expectations is that meeting them requires minimal effort.
Without completely raining on the Jets’ parade, the Packers showed the world just how bad they are in their “Thursday Night Football” loss to the Falcons, and that makes Gang Green’s Week 2 loss sting even more.
On the other hand, the Titans nearly beat the Eagles, so the Jets can take comfort in the fact that they handled Tennessee with ease.
At this point in the season, it’s difficult to tell what’s real and what isn’t. Are the Jets as good on defense as the numbers suggest, or did they just take advantage of two struggling offenses?
If you buy the glass-half-full version of their defense, it means the Lions will have a tough time scoring. The Jets have allowed the fewest yards per game in the NFL, giving up just 197.5 total yards per contest.
That defense will be tested this week. The Lions, for all their flaws, still have a good offense with weapons all over the field.
The inverse matchup will be interesting to watch as well.
The Lions have been exposed defensively through two games and the Jets have an opportunity to try to take advantage of a defense that has allowed 457.5 yards per game, second-most in the league.
The Jets have shown enough in past two weeks with Geno Smith under center to make me feel like they can keep this one within range. I’ll bet on them to cover the spread.
The Pick: Jets +6.5 (-105, BetMGM)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.
