Patriots vs Jaguars Betting / Handicapping
So little has gone right for the Jacksonville Jaguars over the last few years that it seems almost unfair that they will have to face New England the week AFTER the Patriots were taken down on prime time by the 49ers.
New England Patriots (10-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-12)
Sunday, Dec. 23
EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Fla.
1 p.m. EST (TNT)
Spread – Patriots -14.5 at Bovada
O/U – 50
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Any chance the Jags had of NE letting down this Sunday went by the boards when San Francisco came to Foxboro, dominated the first half and then withstood the Pats’ furious comeback.
Jacksonville comes into this one with a three-game losing streak during which it has managed a total of 31 points. The only thing standing between J-Ville and an 11-game losing skid is a Week 12 victory over Tennessee. Things are so bad that some of the relatively few remaining fans actually think that bringing Tim Tebow in would be a good idea.
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But we digress. Before they try to re-stock the shelves in the soon-to-come off-season, the Jags will first have to deal with New England, which is hoping against hope that Denver will slip up and it still can get a first-round playoff bye.
Tom Brady threw a career-high 65 passes in leading NE to that near-historic comeback against the Niners, partly because the running game went nowhere. (Actually, worse than nowhere because RB Stevan Ridley lost two fumbles, which is more than a no-no on a team coached by Bill Belichick.) Brady actually got a deserving day off from practice this week.
If there is a ray of sunshine in J-Ville’s prospects, it lies in the fact that QB Chad Henne actually put up some decent numbers against NE when he was with the Dolphins.[soliloquy id=”82219″]
In five starts against the Patriots, Henne has three 300-yard passing games to his credit. He’s 1-4 overall against NE, but three years ago Henne’s Dolphins beat the Pats as he tossed for 335 yards and two TDs. So there’s a chance.
It wouldn’t be a normal end of season for the Patriots without rumors about assistant coaches leaving, and right on schedule there are reports that the Browns might give NE offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels another shot as a head coach. If McDaniels goes, he might bring along Pats backup QB Ryan Mallett (in a trade), which could mean curtains for current Cleveland starter Brandon Weeden.
THE PICK – If NE is still available to you in your survival pool, the Pats would be an obvious choice. It’s hard to envision any way the Jags can get it done, especially since they’ve been one of the worst offensive teams in the league in December.
The half-point is there to get action on the dog, but bettors so far haven’t bitten – 75 percent of the money is on New England.
Pats to cover the number as Belichick makes the next opponent pay a price for the loss to San Francisco.
