With opening weekend (September 7th) right around the corner, now is the time to start digging deeper into expectations for each team. Today we will take a look at the AFC EAST.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Last season: 14-2
BetOnline O/U wins: 12.5
New England has won the AFC East the last eight straight years and it doesn’t look like that will change in 2017. Losing Julian Edelman to a knee injury in the preseason is a big loss but the Patriots always find a way to make replacements work. It doesn’t hurt to have Tom Brady available for all 16 games this season either.
New England upgraded at several key positions and will have a healthy Rob Gronkowski . It doesn’t take a lot of research to see the Patriots are primed to not only win the division again but make a strong run at the Super Bowl.
With the win total set at 12.5 (the highest in the league), I think this might be one we pass on. Given the adjustment period of breaking in a new receiver and the chance of injury, it feels like this total is not leaving much value in either direction.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
Last season: 10-6
BetOnline O/U wins: 7.5
The Dolphins suffered a huge blow early in preseason when Ryan Tannehill was injured and lost for the season. They were able to bring Jay Cutler out of retirement to fill the gap but relatively high expectations have been tempered quite a bit.
Offensively, it remains to be seen what Cutler has left. The Dolphins were average on offense last season and look to take a step back with the loss of Tannehill. While Miami won 10 games and made the playoffs last season, there was a little luck involved and it doesn’t seem likely it can be repeated.
With the wins total set at 7.5, I think there is solid value on taking the under as Miami struggles with Cutler behind center.
BUFFALO BILLS
Last season: 7-9
BetOnline O/U wins: 6.5
The Bills have the longest active playoff drought in major professional sports at 17 years. Buffalo fired Rex Ryan and brought in Sean McDermott but a coaching change is not enough to get the Bills back into relevance.
Tyrod Taylor returns at QB but there are a lot of holes to fill on both sides of the ball. The focus of this season will be to build a foundation while allowing younger talent to gain experience. With the win total set at 6.5, this looks like another one we can pass on. While not very good, Buffalo is a tough place to play and winning 6 or 7 games seems about right.
NEW YORK JETS
Last season: 5-11
BetOnline O/U wins: 3.5
Poor Jets. It’s been six years since New York made the playoffs and it doesn’t seem like a return trip is happening anytime soon. After releasing a large group of veterans, the Jets are starting over from scratch.
Josh McCown was recently named the starting QB which says a lot about the state of the Jets quarterback situation. New York will struggle to move the ball and score which will leave their defense on the field for way too long.
The Jets win total opened at 5 but has since plummeted to 3.5. They are bad and might very well be the worst team in the league but given the fact they play in a large market that won’t tolerate a complete tank job, I think there is solid value in taking the over 3.5 wins.
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