After opening as 1-point road underdogs visiting the Denver Broncos (3-9) on Sunday, the New York Jets (5-7) have moved to 1-point favorites following their 38-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week. The Broncos have dropped eight straight games heading into the matchup with the Jets, their longest losing streak since 1967.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
That may be enough reason to back New York, although Denver is still 4-1 straight up and against the spread in the past five meetings. The Broncos are also 5-2 SU and ATS in their last seven as home underdogs. On the other side, the Jets are favored on the road for just the fifth time in the last two years and have won four of those games (3-1-1 ATS). Two of the wins came against the Cleveland Browns, including one this season.
Another team that has seen some early movement in its favor is the Houston Texans (4-8) as they host the San Francisco 49ers (2-10) off a big road win versus the Chicago Bears. The Texans opened as 1.5-point chalk and are up to -3 as Jimmy Garoppolo prepares to make his second start for the 49ers and second in a row away from home. Garoppolo would seem to have an edge at quarterback over Houston’s Tom Savage, but San Francisco has gone 1-7 SU and 2-6 ATS in its last eight games after a victory.
The Bears (3-9) also visit the Cincinnati Bengals (5-7) in another matchup between two bad teams, with both of them blowing leads and losing yet again last week. The Bengals are 6-point home chalk and have gone 5-1-1 ATS in the previous seven meetings with the Bears, who have lost 13 of their last 15 games played during the month of December. Cincinnati will be playing on a short week though following a physical game against the Pittsburgh Steelers that resulted in a few key injuries for both teams.
Two other games to watch that are currently off the board due to injuries to starting quarterbacks include the Detroit Lions (6-6) visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8) and the Buffalo Bills (6-6) hosting the Indianapolis Colts (3-9). The Lions and Bills are both hoping to stay in the playoff hunt but will likely need Matthew Stafford (hand) and Tyrod Taylor (knee), respectively, to be on the field in order to remain in contention.
