Monday Night Football Preview
Patriots -9.5 at Jets I Over/Under 41.5
Week Nine wraps up at MetLife Stadium, where the New England Patriots will take on the New York Jets. Neither team is playing exceptionally well now, and both teams are coming into this one with injuries. The Patriots have been struggling without long time quarterback Tom Brady, and the Jets are just plain bad. All spread and salary information is from DraftKings; let’s break it all down.
HOW THE PATRIOTS WIN
The Patriots need to get back to playing Patriot football, something they haven’t done much of this year. They come into this matchup in unfamiliar territory with a 2-5 record and find themselves in third place in the AFC East. The Patriot defense needs to pressure quarterback Joe Flacco and force him into making mistakes with the football. On offense, Cam needs to realize he is not a one-person show and learn to trust his playmakers. The Patriots need a win in this divisional showdown to keep any hopes of a playoff birth alive.
HOW THE JETS WIN
Let’s be honest here, the Jets are not a good football team, and at this point, they appear to have a lame-duck coach and are just playing out the string. They don’t do anything particularly well on offense or defense, and it’s hard to find a scenario in which they could be successful in this matchup. Last week, they did a good job containing the Chiefs running game, which should help manage Cam and this Patriot running game. On offense, they lack any real playmakers to make a difference and struggle to put points on the board. The Patriots are not good at defending the running game, and it might be the Jets’ best shot at winning if they can control the clock. If they fall behind though, they’re going to have to go to the air and trust Joe Flacco to make plays.
QUARTERBACKS
Cam Newton ($13,200)
Cam Newton hasn’t produced the prolific QB1 numbers that we have become accustomed to throughout the years, but the rushing scores have kept him relevant and in lineups. The worst part is that he hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since week three and has thrown five interceptions in his past three games. It’s worth noting the Jets just allowed five touchdowns to Patrick Mahomes and are allowing 288 passing yards per game. Mahomes is an all-world talent with multiple weapons around him, but if Cam is going to turn his season around, this matchup is a great spot to start.
Joe Flacco ($9,400)
Sam Darnold is expected to be out for this one, which means the Jets will turn to veteran Joe Flacco. In his two starts this year, Flacco has thrown one touchdown and an interception and didn’t go over 200 passing yards in either game. Flacco is an adequate backup, but the same lackluster cast of players still surrounds him. The Patriots have also allowed the second-fewest passing yards (1,596) this year and have given up only nine passing touchdowns. There isn’t much here to warrant starting Flacco in any format.
RUNNING BACKS
James White ($6,400), Damien Harris ($10,200)
One of the most challenging things in Fantasy Football is trying to predict New England running backs usage. Damien Harris had a good week last week, rushing for 102 yards and scoring a touchdown, while James White, on the other hand, had just two catches and two rushes for zero yards. Given how the Jets seemed to make a conscious effort to stop the run last week, playing Harris this week may not be the best option, especially if you’re chasing points from last week. Instead, pivot to James White as the Jets allow an average of 6 catches per game to running backs. The Patriots are also banged up at receiver coming into this one, so White may see an uptick of targets based on that alone.
La’Mical Perine ($5,800), Frank Gore ($2,800)
There is not much here for the Jets in terms of a running game, even with Bell out of town. If you are playing either one of these guys in season-long, things aren’t going too well for you this year. Not pictured here is Ty Johnson, who might be the best runner on this team, but he barely plays. The Pats allow 120 rushing yards per game and have given up seven scores on the year, which means you can run on them. One of these runners is an opportunity if the Jets can keep this game close and not abandon the running game.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Jakobi Meyers ($9,000), Damiere Boyd ($6,800), N’Keal Harry ($5,600)
Many times throughout previous years, the Patriots wide receivers were the cream of the crop, my how the mighty have fallen. Jakobi Myers looks to be the lead man here in this group now with Julian Edelman on IR and the status of N’Keal Harry still up in the air as of this time. Meyers has 16 targets in his previous two games, and while Boyd has been involved all year, he’s got just two games with over five targets. The Jets are vulnerable against the pass allowing 189 yards per game to receivers and have given up nine touchdowns on the year. Both Meyers and Boyd can be in play this week as the Pats will try to attack this Jets defense’s weakness.
Jamison Crowder ($11,200), Denzel Mims ($5,000), Braxton Berrios ($5,400), Breshard Perriman ($4,200)
Crowder and Perriman are arguably the best of the bunch, and both are trending towards playing this week. If they do play, this receiving corps is better and gives us options, but neither will rack up the points. The Pats are allowing 162 receiving yards per game and have surrendered seven touchdowns on the year. Crowder has missed time this year, but in the games he’s played, he has double-digit targets and has over 100 yards in all but one game. The Jets will be behind in this one and need to play catchup.
TIGHT END
Ryan Izzo ($1,400)
The Patriots aren’t utilizing the tight end as they have in the previous years. Izzo has only seen 15 targets on the year and hasn’t produced more than 40 yards in a game. The Jets allow 58 yards per game to the tight end and have given up six touchdowns on the year. They are having trouble defending the tight end, and given the state of the receivers on this team, it may be worth taking a shot on Izzo this week.
Chris Herndon ($1,600)
Here’s another player that I think would benefit from a change of scenery. This was supposed to be his break out year, but it’s yet to come to fruition. He hasn’t had more than seven targets in a game and has not gone over 40 yards in any contest, and was drawing interest from other teams before the trade deadline. The Patriots are good at defending against the tight end allowing only 266 yards and one score on the year. There isn’t much here to make a case for Herndon to be in lineups.
PICK
Patriots -9.5 I Over 41.5
LINEUP
- La’Mical Perine- Captain
- Cam Newton
- Ryan Izzo
- Jakobi Meyers
- James White
- Jamison Crowder
