A pair of struggling AFC East teams clash on Monday Night Football on TSN as the 2-5 New England Patriots visit the 0-8 New York Jets.

The Patriots enter play riding a four-game losing streak, while the Jets have lost all eight games they’ve played in 2020.

New England opened as a 7.5-point favorite for this contest, but with Sam Darnold’s availability in serious doubt, the line has moved two more points in the Pats favor.

Neither team has fared particularly well against the spread this season, either.

The Patriots sport a 3-4 record ATS and the Jets are a dismal 1-7.

New England Patriots at New York Jets
Line: Patriots -9.5
Total: 41.5

New York Stuck in a Nightmare

Whether it’s Darnold or Joe Flacco at quarterback for New York on Monday, the outlook for the Jets offence is not pretty.

The Jets are averaging only 14 points per game with Darnold as their QB, and just five points per outing with Flacco at the helm.

New York ranks last in total offence, last in passing yards per game and last in points per game.

They have Pro Football Focus’ lowest graded offence by a wide margin and have exceeded 17 points only once all season.

Neither Darnold nor Flacco has a completion percentage above 58.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, both of their primary ball carriers - Frank Gore and La’Michal Perine – have averaged less than 3.8 yards per rush attempt this season.

Last week in Kansas City, the Jets were outgained by 275 total yards despite the Chiefs sitting the bulk of their starters in the fourth quarter.

It’s no wonder that only one of Gang Green’s eight losses has been within 9 points.

Patriots in a prime bounce back spot

The New England offence hasn’t fared much better in 2020, ranking 29th in points per game and 30th in passing yards per game.

However, the Patriots are one of the league’s premier rushing teams and will look to pound the rock as much as possible versus a depleted Jets front.

New York traded away two of its primary run stoppers prior to the trade deadline in Avery Williamson and Steve McLendon.

The Jets will be hard pressed to win in the trenches versus PFF’s number one ranked run blocking unit.

New England is averaging 159.7 rushing yards per game and features the most prolific rushing quarterback of all-time.

Cam Newton has already racked up six rushing touchdowns this season, which is four more than he’s posted through the air.

He’s converted five of his seven rushing attempts inside the five-yard line into scores and is a great bet to find the end zone again in this match-up.

Play the Under

New York has scored just one touchdown in its past three games.

It’s hard to imagine them finding paydirt more than once in this contest, especially if Flacco starts.

Five of the Jets past seven games have stayed under the total, including each of the last four.

Meanwhile, the Patriots have been cashing under tickets at a strong rate this season thanks to a struggling offence and a stingy defence.

Four of the New England’s seven games have stayed under the total, including three of its past four.

Pick: Under 41.5

Upon Further Review

As mentioned earlier, the Pats want to run the ball at all costs, and it appears that Damien Harris has taken over the lead back role for now.

The second-year player racked up a career high 102 rushing yards and a score last week versus Buffalo and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry this season.

Harris has rushed for at least 58 yards in three of his four outings this season and is being significantly undervalued by oddsmakers prior to this contest.

He’s also a viable RB/Flex bye week fill-in for fantasy managers.

With a game script that will likely be in his favour, he could produce a week-saving score.