Week 4 of the NFL season is already here.

It feels like just yesterday that we were gearing up for Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson to open the season on the Week 1 edition of Thursday Night Football.

Tonight, we get a matchup that might rival the opening meeting of the season.

Tonight, we get Sam Darnold and the New York Jets against *checks notes* Brett Rypien and the Denver Broncos.

It’s not the dream matchup we all hope for, but hey, at least it’s not another presidential debate.

Let’s dive into it.

 

New York Jets vs Denver Broncos

Line: New York -1.5

Total: 40.5

 

You always remember your first

 

Rypien becomes the third different starting quarterback in four weeks for the Broncos, who are trying to avoid a 0-4 start for the second straight season.

Franchise quarterback Drew Lock went down with a shoulder injury in Week 2, thrusting Jeff Driskel into action.

Driskel got the start in Week 3 but struggled, going 17 of 30 for 176 yards, with a touchdown and one interception.

Rypien, an undrafted signing out of Boise State in 2019 who spent last season on the practice squad, replaced Driskel in Sunday's 28-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He completed eight of nine attempts for 53 yards with an interception.

"We just feel he deserves a chance.” Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said on Tuesday. But Fangio added that the team was considering using Driskel during the game as well.

With all that being said, and the uncertainty of an undrafted rookie getting a start on a short week, it’s almost impossible to have expectations for this game.

Rypien enters the game with an over/under of just 204.5 yards and is +275 to pass for over 1.5 touchdowns.

With a young quarterback at the helm, and running back Phillip Lindsey once again questionable to play, it could be a busy night for Melvin Gordon.

Gordon signed a two-year, $16-million deal with the Broncos in the off-season and has had at least 15 rushing attempts in two of the three games this season.

He enters with an over/under of 62.5 rushing yards and is -140 to find the end zone at some point tonight.

 

J-E-T-S, LOSE! LOSE! LOSE!

 

If you read my AFC East divisional preview, then you already know I felt about this Jets team before the season started.

Their preseason win total of 6.5 games seemed too high as this roster, paired with a tough schedule, just screamed double-digit loses.

Well, here we are in Week 4 and the 0-3 Jets might just have their best chance at picking up a win this season.

New York has looked terrible through three weeks, and have been outscored 37-94.

Third-year quarterback Darnold hasn’t looked good either and currently has more interceptions (four) than touchdowns (three).

Darnold is -140 to throw an interception tonight and has an over / under of 227.5 passing yards.

With star running back Le’Veon Bell targeting a Week 5 return from injury, Frank Gore should get a bulk of the work in the backfield tonight.

He leads the team in rushing with 144 yards on 42 attempts.

Gore enters the game with an over/under of 55.5 rushing yards, a number he has eclipsed in his past two games with Bell out of the lineup.

 

The Line

 

The New York Jets enter this game as one-and-a-half point favourite. I would want nothing to do with that.

Since 2018, the Jets are just 2-4 against the spread when favourites at home.

The Broncos, despite being a disappointing 0-3 to start the season, are 2-1 against the spread.

Take that with a grain of salt, of course, as the team is 2-0 against the spread in games Lock started, and the offence struggled without him in Week 3.

Perhaps Driskel wasn’t the answer and Rypien is.

That being said, I like Denver tonight.

The offence has guys like Gordon and Jerry Jeudy who can bust open a massive play and be the difference in what should be a low-scoring game.

PICK: Broncos

PICK ATS: Broncos +1.5