NFL Playoffs: Can the New York Jets close the deal?
The NFL comes to the startling realization that the surprising New York Jets are now controllers of their own fate, the masters of their own domain.
That green-and-white block of frozen water has not only survived the fiery depths of the NFL (not to mention the New York media) - but also wields a large amount of control over the AFC wild-card race as the regular season comes to a close.
For Eric Mangini’s charges, their destiny lies in a home date against the Oakland Raiders, a team that has lost eight straight and has yet to win a road game in 2006.
Unsurprisingly, the Jets come into the game as 13-point favorites, a position they’ve grown accustomed to in recent weeks. After being listed as underdogs in eight of their first 10 games, Gang Green has now been favored in three of its last six.
Boasting an impressive 3-1 record against the spread as a favorite (10-5 ATS overall), you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone thinking the Raiders are a good bet either on the moneyline or ATS, given their road woes and a series of questionable efforts from their “star” players.
Although no team in the NFL can be counted on to win when it’s supposed to, the Jets’ backers should feel confident about their chances Sunday, and not only because the Raiders are so bad.
No way is a Namath-like prediction on the horizon (the Jets are 30/1 to win the Super Bowl, odds that are justly long), but New York is going to be a thorny foe in the playoffs.
It’d be nice to see an otherwise horrible team mess with a playoff scenario, a la the 2003 Arizona Cardinals (if you recall, the 4-12 Cards upended the playoff-bound Vikings in the final week that year as eight-point home dogs), but don’t count on much this weekend.
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NFL Playoffs Preview: With the Jets having something to play for and the Raiders nothing, at least one New York team will taste postseason football in January.
