Thursday night’s NFL game live on Sky Sports is Denver Broncos @ New York Jets – Preview, Predictions, and Fantasy Advice from @CuColin.
Week 4 in the NFL begins with a battle of two 0-3 teams as Denver travel to the Metlife to face the New York Jets. The Broncos will be bitterly disappointed with how the season has gone so far as they have put a promising squad together. However, that squad has already been decimated by injuries. Despite that, they will still surely look at this game as one that is very winnable.
The New York Jets are seen by many as the worst team in the NFL right now and not without good reason. A squad that was already devoid of much talent were hit by the Covid opt-out of star linebacker C.J. Mosely and the Adam Gase related departure of Jamal Adams. This team needs a big performance and soon.
Betpat Betting
Money line: Broncos 10/11 Jets 10/11
Points Spread: Broncos -1.5
Over/Under: 39.5
I like the Broncos to cover the 1.5 spread. The injury issues they’re going through will have narrowed their odds considerably but the Melvin Gordon led ground game is still more than enough to see off the Jets in my opinion.
Fantasy Football Denver Broncos @ New York Jets:
QB’s
Make no mistake, Sam Darnold is a talented QB. But some very questionable decision making, a less than stellar offensive line and a very limited receiving corps hold him back from being a reliable fantasy quarterback. You will get a couple of big weeks out of him each season but nothing consistent.#
With Drew Lock out, the Broncos QB situation is a mess. Jeff Driskell was given the task of taking over but he was hauled off for Brett Rypien in week 3’s collapse to the Buccaneers. The word is Rypien is in line to start, naturally, but my expectations aren’t high.
RB’s
It’s 2020 and the Jet’s starting RB is Frank Gore. No matter how many times I say, see or hear that, it doesn’t get any less strange. Unfortunately for the Jets, and those who spent some of their waiver wire budget on him, Gore hasn’t exactly been racking up big numbers.
Don’t be surprised if Gase turns to rookie Lamical Perine more as the game goes on.
For the Broncos, Melvin Gordon is in a good position to improve on his early season production. Philip Lindsey is in contention to return but the word is his snap count will be limited. If the Broncos can establish a lead, Gordon will surely see a lot of carries to kill the game and put up a monster day.
WR’s
Jet’s will be without deep threat Breshad Perriman again this week but haven’t ruled out slot receiver Jamison Crowder from returning. Crowder can rack up a lot of catches on a good day and is a favoured target of Sam Darnold. Ex Patriot Chris Hogan had some excellent fantasy days in his time as a Patriot, but tough to see him having close to the same impact with NY. What could be worth keeping an eye on, especially for dynasty league players, is the development of Braxton Berrios.
In the absence of Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy carries the main receiving threat for the Broncos, but Tim Patrick has looked like he can be a capable sidekick too. Either can get respectable numbers but are relying on a back-up QB and competing with Noah Fant for targets in what should be a run heavy game plan.
TE’s
The Jets’ Chris Herndon hasn’t shown the type of production they would have been hoping to get from him, but it’s hard to call just how much of that is his fault. They could certainly do with him establishing as a safety blanket for Darnold, but until that happens, don’t expect much out of him.
Noah Fant on the other hand has been showing flashes of why he is so highly rated. He will be looking to add consistency to that but it’s clear the talent is there. The uncertainty at Quarterback might make him more of a gamble than he would have been, but don’t be in a hurry to write him off just yet.
My Prediction Denver Broncos @ New York Jets:
This is probably the Broncos’ game to lose and if they can get any kind of stability and rhythm on offense, I would expect them to come away with the W. I can see the Jets making it tough for them though. Greg Williams won’t be happy with the lack of intensity his defence has shown so far and will be demanding a lot more fight from them this week.
I don’t know if Darnold has the fire power around him to find a way to pull out their first win of the season though in what could be Adam Gase’s last stand if some rumours are to be believed. 22-13 Broncos
