Jacksonville Jaguars vs New York Jets
In a rare rivalry spanning less than 20 games over its entire series lies a gem of a better matchup youāll want to sit down and experience with the AFC Southās Jacksonville Jaguars playing the AFC Eastās New York Jets. Two completely different regions butting heads but itās featured some great stars, including current standouts like Trevor Lawrence or Sauce Gardner not to mention players of the past like Fred Taylor and Darrelle Revis. The truth is, the more you know about this matchup, the better odds you have of picking the right line and earning some extra cash so read on for more.
The History
The Jaguars are one of the newest franchises in the NFL as they got their beginning in 1993 before having their first season during the 1995 campaign. Before the NFL realignment of 2002, Jacksonville would play their games in the AFC Central division until 2001. Their first head coach was Tom Coughlin who would help start the franchise on a positive note although their first season was typical of an expansion teamās as they went 4-12. After that, however, they really started to shine as Coughlin would not only help the Jaguars make their first playoff appearance in 1996, he would lead them to four consecutive postseasons from 1996 until 1999. Unfortunately, the team never went further than the 1996 AFC Conference Championship Game where they lost to the New England Patriots 20-6 but since that run, the Jaguars have only made the postseason three other times and havenāt made it since 2017. On that note, the team has already made it to three AFC Conference Championships and has produced one Hall of Famer in offensive lineman Tony Boselli.
Beginning on August 14, 1959, the New York Jets franchise got their start as one of the original eight charter teams of the AFL only they werenāt called the Jets, they began as the Titans of New York. Four years later, they were renamed the Jets because it rhymed with Mets, the New York baseball team that already played at Shea Stadium which they would now be sharing with the Jets. In more than 60 years as a franchise, the Jets still are best remembered as the team that shocked the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III (1969) behind Broadway Joe Namath. New York would experience years of incompetence through several different coaches and losing teams. The early 1980s were an exception as the Jetsā defense was known as the New York Sack Exchange for their ability to take down the quarterback. The franchise has made it to four AFC Championships but has failed to win any and their only Super Bowl was the aforementioned victory, which came before the NFL/AFL merger.
The Matchup
Whatās so special about a Jaguars versus Jets matchup? With very few games in the series, one of the more fascinating storylines between these two comes from the 2020 season. Both teams were so awful that they were battling it out for the number one pick. The Jets were 0-13 up until the final three weeks of 2020 while the Jaguars were 1-13. Knowing Lawrence was going to be the number one pick, New York would go out and win their next two games while Jacksonville dropped their final three, bringing their records to 2-14 and 1-15, respectively. With the worst record in football, the Jaguars would be rewarded the first overall pick which they used on Lawrence. The Jets would take quarterback Zack Wilson with the second pick. Lawrence, for his part, has started every game for the Jaguars thus far while Wilson has been injured or inconsistent so far.
Odds and Ends
Looking inside the numbers of this series and the first thing that pops out are the totals in 16 games between 1995 and 2021. The Jaguars and Jets combined to score at least 50 points in only two contests over that span, a 34-24 playoff contest back in 1999 and a 28-23 game in 2015. That being said, the teams combined to average 45.8 points per game over a five-game stretch between 2015 and 2021 whereas over five games from 2005 to 2012, the teams combined to score 39 points per contest.
Looking at the winning side of things, the games have not been particularly close when being played in Florida where the winning team won by an average of 20.3 points in four games from 2006 to 2021 whereas in five games in New York over that time, the winning team won by an average of 8.8 points a game.
Why You Should Bet on This Game
There are a ton of reasons you should bet on this game, starting with those totals. Keep an eye out for high totals in the upper 40s as those arenāt going to fit these games with only two going above 50 points over a 16-game span. With that in mind, anything totals in the mid-to-upper 30s are worth looking into as all five games between 2015-2021 hit the over while eight of the 10 games between 2005 and 2021 hit the over as well. In terms of location, the home team may be a good bet as both the Jets and Jaguars went 3-1 against the spread as the home team between 2011-2021. With better insight into this matchup, you have to keep your eye out for this series the next time it hits the NFL schedule.