New York Jets vs. Carolina Panthers Betting Preview
This game is being touted as the Sam Darnold revenge game. After three years with the New York Jets, Sam Darnold was traded this offseason to the Carolina Panthers. The Jets drafted Zach Wilson with the second overall pick in this year’s draft and will start the season as the Jet’s number one quarterback.
What Should be Expected of Zach Wilson?
With the second pick Zach Wilson, former BYU quarterback, was drafted to the New York Jets. With Darnold having already been traded, Wilson walked in as the number one quarterback for the Jets, having never thrown an NFL football. In three years with BYU, Wilson had a completion percentage of 67.6%.
Wilson threw for 56 touchdowns and only had 15 interceptions in three years. Can these numbers be transitioned over to the Jets? Doubtful, especially with the offensive weapons he has around him. With a running backs room that has four underwhelming backs and a wide receiver room without anyone to have a 1,000-yard season, the team will struggle offensively no matter how well Wilson plays.
This Jets defense is very young and may not be great right away, but they are a definite hold for the future. They will hold on to hope that C.J. Mosley will be healthy for the beginning of the regular season. Mosley is their inside linebacker and leader.
New Look for the Panthers.
In a tough NFC South, the Panthers finished 2020 with a 5-11 record. This season, with the departure of Drew Brees from the Saints, the Panthers look to be much more competitive in divisional games. With the addition of Sam Darnold, the team offense instantly gets a little brighter.
While the talk of Panthers camp throughout the offseason was Darnold, the biggest story was the health of Christian McCaffrey. The All-Pro running back spent 2020 mostly on the injured list after having to be done for the season just three games in. McCaffrey is in the small group of every down-backs in the NFL and he just may be the best to do it this season.
Arguably the best player on the defensive side of the ball will be the second-year safety, Jeremy Chinn. He ended his rookie campaign with 116 tackles, one sack, one interception, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries for touchdowns. If it were not for the monster year from Chase Young, Chinn was a clear choice for defensive rookie of the year.
The Picks
The current line has the Panthers as a -5 favorite at -112. The points total is set at 44 with the over at -116 and the under at -104.
The Jets were 2-6 against the spread on the road last season, 1-7 overall. The Jets only covered the over twice while playing on the road last season.
The Panthers were also 2-6 against the spread during their home games in 2020. Carolina covered the over three times last season.
While these will be very different teams than what 2020 showed, it is still nice to know where the team trends. With the experience Darnold has, and the nerves that will more than likely pour from Zach Wilson, take the Panthers to cover the points and under the total.