The Jets and Seahawks have been the two early favorites in what has been a surprisingly hot start to this NFL season. Both have cooled significantly ahead of Sunday’s meeting in Seattle, which could have serious playoff implications for both sides.
The Jets are the road favorites for the third time this season as they try to avoid their first winless December since 1996, when they won just one game all season. Can their offense show some life this week against the Seahawks, who have lost five of six games before 17 tilts?
Here’s what we’re betting on Sunday’s contest, which kicks off at 4:05 PM ET on Fox.
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Seahawks vs. Jets (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox) contest
Seahawks vs. Jets (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox) predictions and analysis
Look, if you know who is going to win this game, power on you and bet accordingly. Personally, I don’t want to be on either side here, and would rather see these offenses go away in a bad stretch for both.
Perhaps it’s time to take flight for a once-powerful Seahawks offense that has been among the league’s best for most of the season. That run looked doomed after the team scored 13 points in Week 15 and 10 in Week 16 — two of Seattle’s three worst results of the season.
The cooldown is related to injuries, specifically this team’s skill position. After star running back Rashaad Penny (ankle) was lost earlier this year, both rookie quarterback Kenneth Walker (ankle) and backup Travis Homer (ankle) . Receivers Tyler Lockett (hand) and Marquise Goodwin (shoulder) also carry questionable tags for Sunday’s contest, making life even more difficult for struggling pass rusher Geno Smith.
The former second-round pick of the Jets looked like a legitimate MVP candidate for the Seahawks earlier this season, but Smith has struggled with turnovers in recent weeks — scoring more touchdowns in his last five starts (5) than he had in his previous 10 games. (4). He has just one hit in his last two games, his fewest since Week 6.
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The Jets’ anemic streak won’t go unnoticed, having averaged just 13.5 points during the team’s four-game losing streak. That unit hit its lowest point in last week’s 19-3 loss to the Jaguars, with struggling midfield tackle Zach Wilson relegated to the second and possibly final stretch of his ugly sophomore season.
So here comes Mike White, who got his first sack of the offense in Week 12. There’s just one problem: He’s not healthy his second time as a starter. The former fifth-round pick has missed the past two weeks with multiple rib fractures, and there is some questioning whether he would have played this week had it not been for Wilson’s incompetence a week ago.
The result is a messy matchup between two offenses with serious question marks under center and a sloppy running game to go along with them. While the Seahawks defense has been a mess this year, I don’t think this version of New York’s offense will pose much of a problem, while the Jets’ stellar defense could keep Seattle underwhelming.
Seahawks vs. Jets (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox) Odds (via BetMGM)
- Jets -1.5 (-110), money line -125
- Seahawks +1.5 (-110), money line +105
- O/U 42.5 (-110)
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