The moment New York Jets fans have all been waiting for (well, sort of). Aaron Rodgers will be making his debut tonight as the starting quarterback for the Jets.
Rodgers isn’t the only starter who will be getting playing time tonight. In the last episode of Hard Knocks, head coach Robert Saleh said that all of the starters will play against the New York Giants. On the other side, will Brian Daboll play his starters again this week? We break it all down with the betting odds, picks, and more.
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New York Jets (-6) vs. New York Giants
Soppe: By my count, it has been 1,835 days since Rodgers last played in a preseason game, and now we’re supposed to be comfortable laying six points because he is going to bring his helmet to the stadium?
Sure, he’s going to start the game, but there’s a chance that you spend more time finding parking than A-A-Ron does on the field.
Six points? That’s a lot. The number of days since Rodgers’ last preseason game is a big number, but do you know what’s bigger? The stretch since the G-Men last lost a preseason game by 6+ points (1,842 days!).
The Giants have completed over 72% of their passes this preseason, and that’s one of the perks of having a deep receiver room full of similarly underwhelming guys. They’re all motivated to make the most of their August reps.
I may sprinkle on the live moneyline as a way of even further leaning into this (if Rodgers leads a scoring drive, we could be looking at +250 or higher), but rest assured that in pregame markets, I’ll be invested in the Giants.
Pick: Giants +6 (-110)
Blewis: I agree with Soppe here. I think the Jets are giving too many points because of Rodgers’ debut when we don’t even know if he will play more than one or two series.
Through the first two weeks of the preseason, the Jets’ backups have scored 33 total points and have surrendered just 13. The Giants, on the other hand, looked excellent offensively last week when the starters and then the second-stringers were in the game, but then failed to score any points in the second half when QB3 Tommy DeVito was under center.
Given how well they played last week, I doubt we’ll see any of Daniel Jones and very little of Tyrod Taylor.
I think the Jets are being overvalued here, and I expect a low-scoring affair. Let’s get bold and make a parlay on this one.
Pick: Giants +6 and Under 39 parlay (+264)
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New York Jets Roster and Injury Report
Besides Rodgers starting their preseason finale, the biggest news out of Jets training camp this week was WR Corey Davis retiring. Davis was expected to be the third wide receiver coming off a season with 32 receptions for 536 receiving yards in 13 games.
The Jets have some minor injuries to their playmakers on offense. Dalvin Cook is dealing with a shoulder injury that is expected to keep him out tonight, and his backups are banged up as well.
RB Breece Hall made his return to practice coming off a torn ACL from last season but won’t play tonight, and neither will rookie RB Israel Abanikanda, who is expected to be out a couple of weeks with a thigh injury.
WR Allen Lazard has been dealing with an AC joint injury in his shoulder but should be ready to go for Week 1. Rookie center Joe Tippmann will miss at least a couple of weeks due to a knee injury.
New York Giants Roster and Injury Report
The Giants’ first-team offense had a flawless outing against the Carolina Panthers last week. Jones went 8 of 9 with 77 passing yards and a touchdown to tight end Daniel Bellinger.
On the first drive of the game, he kept connecting with his newest weapon, TE Darren Waller, who had three receptions for 30 yards. The Jones-to-Waller connection gave Giants fans a sneak peek of what’s to come this season.
MORE: Predicting the 2023 NFL Playoff Bracket
Taylor was impressive as well and connected with rookie WR Jalin Hyatt on a 33-yard touchdown pass. The Giants lack star power at the wide receiver position, to say the least, but they are deep with talent. Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell, Sterling Shepard, and Jamison Crowder all got targets last week.
Another wide receiver who should be in the mix for targets this season is second-year player Wan’Dale Robinson. After tearing his ACL last year, Robinson was spotted at practice, running at full speed for the first time since suffering the season-ending knee injury in 2022.
