Jets enter 'TNF' as favorites vs. Patriots for first time in 13 years

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Jets enter 'Thursday Night Football' as favorites vs. Patriots for first time in 13 years

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated Sep 19, 2024 10:06 AM ET

The New York Jets (1-1) and New England Patriots (1-1) will play a crucial contest to begin Week 3 on "Thursday Night Football," as both teams look to keep pace with the AFC East leader, the Buffalo Bills (2-0). The loser, meanwhile, will drop into last place at 1-2.

It was reported in May that the Jets were favored in 14 games this season, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, which was the most in franchise history. New York was most heavily favored in the Week 3 tilt against the Patriots (-7.5 in mid-May), and while that figure has dipped slightly, Gang Green is still being picked over the Patriots for the first time in more than two dozen head-to-head meetings.

As noted by sports betting writer Ben Fawkes, citing ESPN Stats & Info, Thursday night's matchup will break a historic streak.

The New York Jets (-6) will be favored against the New England Patriots for the FIRST time in 25 games tonight.

The 24 straight meetings had been the longest active head-to-head streak of one team favored vs. another in the NFL, per @ESPNStatsInfo
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) September 19, 2024

The last time New York was favored over New England was on Nov. 13, 2011, ahead of a Week 10 battle. Despite entering as 2.5-point underdogs, the visiting Patriots crushed the host Jets, 37-16.

New England quarterback Tom Brady went 26-of-39 for 329 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions that day, with tight end Rob Gronkowski finishing with eight catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 11 targets.

This was the teams' second meeting since the Jets stunned the Patriots in the AFC divisional round in January 2011 with a 28-21 road win. That was New York's most recent postseason victory.

The Jets hold the longest playoff drought among all teams in North America's four major sports, missing the playoffs each of the last 13 years. They last won a division title during the 2002 season, made their only Super Bowl in the 1968 campaign and have only won 12 games in a season once (1998).

Entering the 2024 campaign, the only three contests for which the oddsmakers had New York as underdogs were road games in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers on "Monday Night Football," Week 14 against the Miami Dolphins and Week 17 against the Buffalo Bills.

The Jets lost Week 1 to the Niners, 32-19, before bouncing back with a 24-17 road triumph against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2.

Victor Barbosa

Victor Barbosa is a passionate follower of MLB, the NBA and NFL, with a deep interest in Boston-area teams. He graduated from Springfield College -- The Birthplace of Basketball -- in 2013 with a degree in Communications-Sports Journalism. Previous bylines include FanSided, Heavy and Syracuse

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