New York Jets at Oakland Raiders Line
The New York Jets look to improve to 3-0 when they visit the 1-1 Oakland Raiders Sunday.
Odds makers have given New York the edge, listing the Jets as a 3.5-point favorite with the total set at 41.
The Jets avoided a letdown following a thrilling win over Dallas and pummeled the Jacksonville Jaguars 32-3 last week.
The story of the game was New York’s stop unit, which held the Jaguars to 203 yards of offense and came up with four takeaways.
Cornerback Antonio Cromartie had a big day with two interceptions.
The Raiders blew an excellent opportunity to improve to 2-0 when they blew a 21-3 halftime advantage at Buffalo last Sunday.
The offense played well enough to win, but the defense had no answer for Fred Jackson and the Buffalo running attack. The Raiders gave up 217 yards on the ground last week.
The Oakland defense ranks 27th in the league with 127.5 rushing yards allowed per game. It could have its hands full against a New York offense that has ranked in the top four in rushing the last two years.
New York, however, is yet to get much done on the ground this season. It currently ranks 28th in the NFL with 73 rusher yards per game.
Led by Shonn Greene, the Jets did net 101 rushing yards against Jacksonville last Sunday.
The Oakland offense was one of the best in the league in 2010, and it’s off to a pretty good start in 2011. The Raiders currently rank eighth in scoring with 29 points per game.
As was the case last season, when they ranked second in the league with 155.9 rushing yards per game, the Raiders are doing much of their damage on the ground. They rank fourth in the NFL this season with 160.5 rushing yards per game.
While the Jets didn’t give up much of anything on the ground to Dallas in Week 1, they did allow 112 rushing yards to Maurice Jones-Drew and the Jags last week.
They’re likely to be tested by Darren McFadden, who currently ranks second in the league with 222 rushing yards.
The Jets have had the upper hand in this series of late, winning four of the last five meetings. These teams last met on Oct. 25, 2009 with the Jets winning 38-0 in Oakland.
The Raiders have been a poor small underdog, going just 5-21-2 against the spread in their last 28 games when catching three points or less.
In regard to the total, the over deserves some consideration. The Jets have played to the over in 19 of their last 26 games. The Raiders have finished over the number in each of their last four home contests.
Jimmy Boyd is off to a hot 4-1-1 start with his Sunday NFL plays through the first two weeks of the season. He is on a dominant 32-16-1 run (excludes preseason) on the pro gridiron dating back to last season. Join him again this Sunday for more expert premium picks!
