Mac’s Picks is coming off a 2-0 week and is now 3-1 on the season. The Thursday night game puts us out of our normal mental routine, but we’re digging deep to keep the streak going.
New England Patriots (1-1) at NY Jets (1-1)
Thursday 8:15 Amazon Prime Video
Tonight promises to be strange as the Patriots and Jets resume their unique “rivalry”. On one hand, the Patriots have been the Jets most hated and feared opponent. On the flip side, the Patriots alums started to refer to the Jets game in Foxboro as their “homecoming” game (a bedeviling reference to it being an easy game on the schedule).
Since 1993 the Patriots have had a Hall of Fame coach patrolling the sidelines, including Bill Parcells (1993-96), Pete Carroll (1997-98) and the legend Bill Belichick (2000-23). All three of them coached the Jets though for less time (3 seasons, 1 season and 1 day respectively) and less success. New head coach Jerod Mayo comes in unproven and without any ties to the Jets organization. Under center, Tom Brady has long since left, and the Jets will be the team with the Hall of Fame QB. The Patriots have no expectations on them, while the Jets are now under the spotlight, playing their second prime time game in 11 days. Strange indeed.
The Patriots have run the ball effectively through two games, and the Jets run defense is banged up with Jermaine Johnson on season-ending IR and CJ Mosley questionable, so this game should stay relatively close until ultimately the Jets talent on offense takes over. Because while Aaron Rodgers legs are old, his weapons’ legs are not.
Mac’s Pick – Jets 27 Patriots 16
NY Giants (0-2) at Cleveland Browns (1-1)
Sunday 1p FOX
Speaking of strange, let’s call this the “Regrets Bowl”. In 2022, the Browns signed Deshaun Watson to a 5-year, $230m contract completely guaranteed. In 2023, the Giants signed Daniel Jones to a 4-year, $160m contract with $92m guaranteed. For those of you not counting at home, that’s a total of $322m in guaranteed dollars paid by two teams who have already been flirting with the idea of acquiring new franchise QB’s.
The Browns are in a strange opening stretch in which they will play the entire NFC East by October 13th which includes their opening weekend loss to Dallas. They bounced back last week with a good defensive effort in a win against Jacksonville. The Giants also looked much better in week 2, thought they came up a kicker short in their loss to Washington (funny how you need one of those to win).
Last year the Browns started 5 different QBs in the regular season and still managed to win 11 games. Their defense, led by 5-time All-Pro DE Myles Garrett, is their calling card which is bad news for Jones who may have his own regrets come Sunday night.
Mac’s Pick – Browns 24 Giants 16
Want to know the score of the Jets or Giants game before it happens? Visit us every week during football season for the return of Mac’s Picks!
Disclaimer: Mac’s Picks is written for entertainment purposes only. “Mac” is not a professional prognosticator and doesn’t claim to be able to able to predict the future, nor help you win enough money to pay off previous gambling debts. Use this information at your own risk.
