The New York Jets (0-3) welcome the Denver Broncos (0-3) to East Rutherford today for a Thursday night contest (8:20pm ET live on NFL Network).
Both teams are winless and coming off losses they were both unable to cover the spread in. The Broncos lost 28-10 at home to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. They were +6pt underdogs and benched starting quarterback Jeff Driskel for third stringer Brett Rypien. Rypien was called up on Saturday before the game from Denver’s practice squad. The Broncos were unable to muster any points in the second half.
The Jets fell to the Colts 36-7 as +11.5pt underdogs. The Jets were able to score a touchdown in the first quarter and then were outscored 29-0 for the remainder of the game. This was the lowest scoring effort by the Jets so far this season after putting up 17 against the Bills in week one and 13 against the Niners in week two.
If this wasn’t the Thursday night game many of us likely wouldn’t watch but having a little action on the game will make this at least entertaining. USAbetting will be aiming to find some picks as part of our final Denver Broncos vs New York Jets predictions.
Who is Healthier?
Both teams are desperate for a win this week but each team has a handful of key injuries. The Jets are hoping to get their best offensive weapon, wide receiver Jamison Crowder, back this week. He is questionable with a hamstring injury and was limited in practice during each session this week. Crowder had a strong performance in his lone game week one against the Bills and hasn’t played since. The shifty slot receiver put up seven receptions, 115 yards, and a touchdown as the Jets scored their most points of the season with 17 against the Bills. Expect the Jets to look more efficient if Crowder is able to play.
Fellow pass catcher Chris Hogan is also questionable after three limited practices this week. That is not a great sign for a Jets offense that ranks 31st in the NFL with 175.3 passing yards per game. Starting tackle Mekhi Becton is also questionable with a shoulder injury that he suffered last week versus the Colts. These three offensive injuries are important and will need to be monitored up until kick-off.
The Broncos also have several important injuries and are arguably the less healthy team entering the game. They have been without star pass rusher Von Miller for the entire season. Starting corner AJ Bouye is also on the IR with a shoulder injury. They also lost star wide receiver Courtland Sutton to a knee injury in week two versus the Steelers. They are also without starting quarterback Drew Lock and backup Jeff Driskel was benched halfway through week three.
Third string quarterback Brett Rypien is set to make the start this week. It is not a great sign for a Broncos team that ranks 27th in the NFL in average passing yards with 205.0 yards per game. Rypien came in last week at half after another lackluster performance from Driskel. As a starter Driskel is 1-8 so Rypien may indeed be an upgrade, but he didn’t quite impress in a half of action last week. He was an impressive 8 for 9 completions but only went for 53 yards (5.9 yards per attempt).
This doesn’t exactly inspire confidence for an explosive performance from either team, but the total points is quite low at 40.5pts with the leading United States’ oddssetters. The total has gone over six of the last seven times the Jets have played the Broncos at home.
Our Betting Preview’s Denver Broncos vs New York Jets Predictions & Picks Verdict
This game is going to be ugly, but thankfully we can bet on it. We are going to ride with the Jets at home. The current line is Jets -1.5pts but opened as high as the Jets as a +1.5 underdog. We are more so betting against the practice-squad call up, Rypien, than we are betting on Sam Darnold. With Crowder (hopefully) back they should be much more competitive than we saw in weeks two and three.
Rypien also didn’t seem capable of moving the ball down the field in his nine attempts last week. He also had an interception, a fumble and a sack in his limited time. We are going with the slightly better quarterback at home. I would also look to the under, but primetime games always seem to go over so we aren’t going to officially play the under. So our Denver Broncos vs New York Jets predictions conclude with the one pick:
- Bet the New York Jets -1.5pts on the spread @ best odds of -110 with Bovada, Intertops or BetOnline.
Alex Uplinger is a sports betting analyst, writer, podcast producer and an expert on NFL and college basketball. As well as his football previews for USA Betting, Alex produces and co-hosts an NFL show for Full Slate and a sports betting podcast on the Blue Wire Network.