After a few bumpy weeks, Sam Darnold has established himself as the Jets’ quarterback of the future – but he could be in for a significant test Sunday afternoon as New York entertains the Minnesota Vikings. Darnold has thrown five total touchdown passes in consecutive victories over the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts, bringing the Jets back to the .500 mark. The Vikings cruised past Arizona 27-17 last week to improve to 3-2-1 on the year.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

The Jets have been a truly impressive cover option as a home underdog, having gone 8-2 ATS in their previous 10 games in that situation. Even more surprising is the fact that the Jets have gone 6-4 SU in that stretch, including a 34-16 triumph over visiting Denver back on Oct. 7. The Vikings haven’t enjoyed the same success as a road fave, going just 6-10 ATS in their last 16 contests while losing eight of those games outright.

Oddsmakers are expecting this one to feature plenty of scoring, as evidenced by the total of 47. The Vikings have cashed the over in seven of their past 10 road games, and are 4-1 O/U in their past five contests following a straight-up victory. The Jets are also rocking some significant over trends, having gone above the number in six of their previous eight home games while going a red-hot 4-0 O/U in their past four October outings.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings were certain they had hit the quarterback mother lode with the acquisition of Kirk Cousins – but he’s struggling to put together any consistency through the first six weeks of the season. Cousins has thrown three or more touchdown passes in two of his previous five games, but has a combined three scores in the other three contests. The Jets have been gashed for 272 yards per game through the air and 11 TDs, but have also snagged 10 interceptions.

New York Jets

Darnold hasn’t been shy about spreading the football around: Six different Jets players have 100 or more receiving yards so far, while six players have caught at least one touchdown pass. And it hasn’t hurt that the Jets have boasted a robust run game, averaging 4.5 yards per carry with five scores – all belonging to Isaiah Crowell. The Vikings have been slightly better than the Jets in the pass defence department (267 YPG), but have just four interceptions.

Vikings vs. Jets Prediction