Thursday Night Football Week 3 Picks: Defense to Take Center Stage

• The New York Jets bounced back with a 24-17 victory against the Tennessee Titans

• The New England Patriots lost to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime last week

• Both offensive lines rank in the bottom half of the league in Pass Protection Grade

After getting throttled by the San Francisco 49ers in their season opener, the New York Jets flirted with disaster by struggling to secure the win against the lowly Tennessee Titans. Comeback Player of the Year contender Aaron Rodgers is still noticeably shaking off the rust while trying to get the pass game going, forcing the Jets to heavily rely on star running back Breece Hall to generate the brunt of their offensive production.

With the Patriots' defense playing at a far more competitive level than projected, as well as getting the benefit of poor weather hampering the Jets' pass attack, expect another primetime low-scoring affair. Especially with the Jets defense more than capable of stuffing the anemic Patriots offense, taking advantage of one of the worst offensive lines in the league while minimizing Rhamondre Stevenson’s rush production in the trenches.

As for where to wager on Thursday night’s AFC East divisional matchup between the New England Patriots and New York Jets, Caesars Sportsbook has been the top choice for the NFL as they offer a wide range of markets and at very favorable odds when compared to the rest of the mobile apps. If you have not signed up yet with Caesars Sportsbook, you can get up to $1,000 back in the form of bonus bets should you lose your first wager after creating an account with the WSN promo code WSN1000.

Under 38 (-115) at Caesars Sportsbook 

After cashing the under in last week’s Thursday primetime matchup, we go back to the well for this week as the New England Patriots and New York Jets will struggle to generate consistent offensive production. Especially with both defenses playing at a high rate, getting the benefit of going against a pair of struggling pass attacks with poor protection up front. Heading into Thursday, both offensive lines rank in the bottom half of the league in Pass Protection Grade.

With both pass attacks not showing any signs of being able to immediately play at a competitive level on short rest, we can expect both offenses to continue to rely on a heavy dose of the run to help sustain drives down the field. By calling the run, the clock will continuously tick down to the benefit of the under. With a running clock, both offenses will also have fewer offensive possessions which limits the number of scoring opportunities. Take the under at no lower than the key number of 37 in what should be a low-scoring affair.

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First Half Under 19.5 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook 

Correlating this prop with the previously mentioned one, backing the first half under negates the possibility of getting burned in overtime as well as a potential uptick in scoring after halftime adjustments. The weather forecast is also calling for a chance of rain and gusty winds early in the contest, forcing both offenses to revert to an even heavier dose of the run to help limit weather-related variance through the air. With weather potentially affecting the pass attack, both defenses will also get the benefit of stacking the box at a heavier rate to help limit each other's rush production.

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Jets -1 / Bengals -2 Six Point Teaser (-125) at Caesars Sportsbook 

With a minimal number of scoring opportunities, it’s tough to wager on a sizable favorite as the room for error is razor-thin. Especially when a penalty can flip the field in a hurry, putting you in danger of getting burned by a field goal. Still, the Jets are far superior on both sides of the ball and should come out of Thursday with a win. Instead of backing them at -7, you can put them in a six-point teaser with the Cincinnati Bengals to help get both legs at -3 or less.

While the Patriots have played above preseason expectations, it’s tough to envision their offense being able to stay within the Jets' scoring pace. Even when the scoring pace is expected to be bogged down, the Patriots' offense is too one-dimensional to burn a defense who possesses competitive production at all three levels of the field. Losing star edge rusher Jermaine Johnson to a season-ending injury hurts, yet Will McDonald IV has already shown he can immediately produce in an elevated role after generating three sacks against the Titans last week.

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