Ravens vs. Jets Point Spread: NFL Week 1 Odds, Prediction
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Sports Interaction Staff
Kickoff is Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. It will be a battle between the 2019 league MVP Lamar Jackson for Baltimore and sophomore starter Zach Wilson for New York.
The Maryland-based squad enters the campaign at +2000 as far as their odds of lifting the Vince Lombardi trophy next February. On the other hand, the Jets have a steep hill to climb with their chances set at +12500. For this matchup, Baltimore is favoured at -6.5.
NFL Week 1 Point Spread and Betting Analysis
If history means anything, it should be noted that the Ravens have emerged victorious from 4 of the past 5 encounters between the two sides. Not being in the same division, they don’t play each other every season, but the most recent result was in 2019, the season for which Lamar Jackson earned his MVP award. The result was a 42-21 throttling in the Ravens’ favour.
As far as betting is concerned, New York ended the 2021 season only 6-11 ATS. As for Baltimore, their actual 8-9 win-loss record mirrored how they did ATS as well.
Baltimore Ravens
It would be an oversimplification to state that the Ravens organization is heading into the new campaign full steam ahead, but reality suggests otherwise. The elephant in the room is the ongoing contract negotiations between the front office and its star QB. Recent reports point to Jackson lining up under center irrespective of whether or not a new deal is agreed upon by Week 1.
Furthermore, much ink has been spilled about Baltimore’s off-season moves regarding the offensive side of the ball. TE Mark Andrew continues to serve as a safety blanket for the QB, but many eyebrows were raised when the team shipped WR Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals. Sammy Watkins was also a nice tool receiver to have around, and he’s gone too. While the team made potentially interesting moves in the draft to spruce up its defence and the center position, Jackson may not have many great options to throw to.
New York Jets
The organization enters year 2 of the Robert Saleh regime, not to mention the sophomore season for QB Zach Wilson. To put it mildly, the Jets often looked pretty bad in 2021 (the 13 – 54 drubbing at New England in week 7 being an ignominious memory). It wasn’t always smooth sailing for its young QB either, having suffered a bad knee injury during that matchup with the Patriots. His recovery time meant missing the next 4 games.
The offseason came and went with its share of highs and lows. There is a lot of hoopla about receiver Elijah Moore, whom many analysts believe could have a breakout season. On the flip side, OT Mekhi Becton, for whom several experts had high hopes, is on injured reserve due to kneecap issues.
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NYJ