Two teams riding two-game losing streaks, including blowout losses last week, are set to meet on Sunday as the Atlanta Falcons will travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars.  The Falcons were blanked 25-0 against New England last week, while the Jaguars fell 30-10 against San Francisco.

Atlanta is a 2.5-point favourite to win on the NFL odds, with a total of 46.0.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

It’s been two years since these teams have met, with Atlanta winning 24-12 at home in December 2019.  The betting public is backing the Falcons for this one too, as about 75 per cent of action is taking Atlanta.  There’s an even bigger gap on the total, with the Under favoured at a 91 per cent rate.  That mark makes sense given these teams combined for 10 points last week.

Atlanta has actually been better on the road this season.  The Falcons are 3-2 away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium compared to 1-4 at home.  They’re 4-6 against the spread overall and they’ve covered in their last five games against Jacksonville.  The total has gone Over in four of Atlanta’s last six games.

Jacksonville’s only two wins of the season have come at home where they’re 2-4 for the year.  They’re 4-6 against the spread overall this season, but they haven’t covered in nine consecutive games against NFC South opponents.  The total has gone Under in the Jaguars’ last five games.

Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta’s offence has completely disappeared over the last two games, only managing to put up three points in that time.  To really put it in perspective, the Falcons haven’t scored a touchdown in nearly nine quarters.  They even somehow managed to have three different quarterbacks throw interceptions last week with starter Matt Ryan, backup Josh Rosen and third-stringer Feleipe Franks all getting picked off.  Ryan threw two interceptions and no touchdowns and was sacked four times, finishing with 153 passing yards.  It wasn’t the bounce-back game for Ryan that Atlanta was hoping for after he posted the lowest passer rating of his career in a 43-3 loss against Dallas the week prior.

One piece of good news is the expected return of utility player Cordarrelle Patterson, who missed last week with an ankle injury.  Patterson was reportedly close to playing last week, so his return to practice is a sign he’ll likely play on Sunday.  He leads the team with 303 rushing yards and two TDs.  Patterson is also second with 473 receiving yards and has a team-high five receiving TDs.  He’s the only Falcons player with multiple rushing TDs this season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The level of concern has to be rising in Jacksonville as rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence has now gone three straight games without a touchdown pass.  Lawrence recorded just 153 passing yards against San Francisco.  The Jaguars finished with 200 yards on 44 plays, tied for the fifth-lowest mark in franchise history.  That lack of production has to, at least in part, be blamed on offensive injuries.  Wide receiver D.J. Chark has been out since September with a broken ankle, tight end James O’Shaughnessy went down with his own ankle injury in Week 2 and receiver/returner Jamal Agnew suffered a season-ending hip injury in last week’s loss.  There is, however, a chance that O’Shaughnessy returns this week, although there’s been no official word yet.

NFL Prediction: Who Will Win Falcons vs. Jaguars?