Two winless teams face off this week on Thursday Night Football, but there will still be plenty of fireworks. The Denver Broncos visit MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Jets, with Denver making a quarterback change and the Jets fighting to save head coach Adam Gase's job. Brett Rypien will call the shots for the Broncos after he replaced a struggling Jeff Driskel in a 28-10 loss to Tampa Bay last week, while Jets third-year QB Sam Darnold is trying to find consistency in an offense with limited weapons.
Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium. The game is a pick'em in the latest Broncos vs. Jets odds at William Hill, while the over-under for total points scored is 40. Before locking in any Jets vs. Broncos picks or NFL predictions, make sure you see what SportsLine's all-time No. 1 NFL expert, Mike Tierney, has to say.
A national sportswriter whose work appears in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Tierney has covered the NFL for decades and reported from seven Super Bowls. He prefers to evaluate each game from the underdog's point of view and has used that philosophy to dominate the NFL, going 66-44 against the spread in 2019 and 63-46 in 2018.
Tierney entered the 2020 season with a 282-222 record at SportsLine (2016-19) on all NFL picks, returning $3,704 to $100 players, and is 11-7 in his past 18 NFL against-the-spread picks. He has a sharp eye for the tendencies of the Jets, entering this matchup on a 10-6 run on against the spread picks for or against New York. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Tierney has locked in on Broncos vs. Jets from every angle and released another confident against the spread pick. You can visit SportsLine now to see it. Here are several NFL betting lines from William Hill and trends for Jets vs. Broncos:
- Broncos vs. Jets spread: PK
- Broncos vs. Jets over-under: 40
- Broncos vs. Jets money line: Denver -110, New York -110
- DEN: Rookie WR Jerry Jeudy has at least four catches in all three games.
- NYJ: WR Braxton Berrios has more catches (10) and yards (123) in the past two games than all of last year.
Why the Broncos can cover
Denver is 4-0 against the spread in its last four games after accumulating fewer than 250 total yards in its previous game, and Rypien completed eight straight passes in the final 10 minutes against the Bucs. The Jets have been outscored by 57 points over the first three weeks, and the defense has just six sacks and one interception. The nephew of Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien makes quick decisions and can get rid of the ball before the Jets get to him.
Tight end Noah Fant (14 catches for 184 yards) and rookie receiver Jerry Jeudy (13-173) will help the quarterback out of any tough situations, and the running game should have more success after facing the Bucs' elite run defense last week. The Broncos have covered their last four games after posting fewer than 250 total yards in their previous game.
Why the Jets can cover
New York is 4-1 against the spread in its last five as a home underdog, and Darnold can make plays when he has time. The third-year pro has thrown for 562 yards and completed more than 61 percent of his passes. He should find open receivers against a Denver pass defense that allows 277.7 yards per game (29th in NFL). The receiving corps is banged up, but Braxton Berrios has emerged as a reliable option with 10 catches in the past two games.
The Jets are 5-7 against the spread in non-division games under Gase, and running back Frank Gore can still grind out the yards at age 37. Gore is mentoring explosive fourth-round pick La'Mical Perine, who has just 10 carries so far but will see an increased workload now that he is recovered from an ankle injury. New York's defense will be able to make plays against a young quarterback who is leading an offense that ranks 28th or worse in every major statistical category.
How to make Broncos vs. Jets picks
Tierney is leaning over on the total, and he's also discovered a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He's sharing it only at SportsLine.
Who wins Jets vs. Broncos on Thursday Night Football? And what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Jets vs. Broncos spread you should jump on, all from the NFL expert who's brought in over $3,700 to $100 players and is 10-6 on Jets picks, and find out.
