Big dogs reigned supreme over the first two weeks of the season.
Teams getting at least six points were not only a perfect 8-0 but were doing so by an incredible 9.5 points per game. That’s the single-best start in NFL history.
That trend was on the line Thursday night as the Jets closed as 6.5-point favorites against their arch-rival Patriots. However, it came to an end as New York cruised to a 24-3 win on Thursday Night Football.
Fortunately for the public, they bucked the profitable early trend as 54% of all bets and 63% of the money was on New York covering.
It turned out to be a relatively easy win. This was only the second time since 2002 that New York was favored over the Patriots, but it got in front early and steadily padded their lead along the way. A Patriots team that’d been plucky on defense had no answer for Aaron Rodgers, who was in vintage form, going 27-of-35 for 281 yards and two touchdowns for a 118.9 passer rating.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be much of a surprise, though, that the Jets easily covered when looking at Rodgers’ history. He entered the game 11-4-1 ATS on Thursday, including 9-4-1 on Thursday Night Football. He was also 8-1 ATS on Thursdays when favored by at least four points. The future Hall-of-Famer also entered the game as the most profitable quarterback in primetime against divisional opponents over the past 20 years with a 24-10 record.
Meanwhile, the public hopes the Jets covering turns things around for them as they’ve struggled mightily early in the year. As pointed out by Action Network’s Director of Research Evan Abrams, the public’s just 11-20-1 ATS this season, which means a $100 bettor is down $989. That’s the second-worst start for the public through two weeks since the 2003 campaign.
It’s actually the exact opposite of last season. The public crushed it all year long against the spread, going 139-115-9, meaning a $100 bettor finished up $1,063.
