Nearly to the midseason mark in the regular season, we’re gearing up to maintain momentum after last week’s Eagles and Falcons betting victories.

This time, it’s the Battle for New Jersey between a pair of “New York” teams, the Jets and Giants.

This is also an “eye test” game, with several factors to compare as these squads’ respective seasons continue to circle the drain.

As a betting experience, this matchup provides plenty of intrigue because, by and large, you just can’t trust one of these options.

We have our pick and a couple of bonus options ready to roll.

(Odds per BetMGM.com)

THE HEADLINER

Jets at Giants, 1 p.m. ET Sunday

The line: Jets -3, total 36.5.

The lead running backs, Breece Hall of the Jets and Saquon Barkley of the Giants, are ranked No. 12 and 11, respectively, in yards per game.

Barkley has had the advantage of facing the Buffalo Bills, Washington Commanders and Arizona Cardinals over his past three games, while Hall has shown flashes of elite talent. Metrics also credit Barkley with more than 40 percent more yards gained over expected.

Both defenses will aim to slow the ground game, and that’s where the pass rush comes in.

The Jets have one and the Giants suffer in pass protection. This isn’t good news for backup Tyrod Taylor, who is set to start in place of Daniel Jones again Sunday.

A quick nugget from Action Network:

“The Jets have played the toughest schedule of QBs in the entire NFL – Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Josh Allen. Despite this tough schedule, the Jets are 10th in success rate and 12th in EPA per play allowed.”

The Jets are dialed in after a week off – which followed their upset of the Philadelphia Eagles – and if they are able to stuff the run, their pass defense could have a big day.

With a top-five defensive secondary in terms of coverage stats, the Jets aren’t likely to allow much from a very average Giants receiving group.

The Jets’ eight interceptions have come off the Bills’ Josh Allen (three), Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (two) and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts (two).

The pick: Jets -3.

THEY SAID IT

“I say they have a really good front four. Call it more than a front four with the amount of times they rotate in there. Two good cover corners (Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed). … This is a challenging defense to get ready for, and it shows.”

– Giants coach Brian Daboll on Sunday’s opponent, the Jets

BONUS COMBO

Who doesn’t like a good story? Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent may be the exciting blend of good story and serviceable player.

Bears at Chargers, 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday

The line: Chargers -8.5.

You didn’t think you needed to watch the “Sunday Night Football” game? With undrafted Bagent starting at quarterback for the Chicago Bears, you almost have to tune in with the World Series on a travel day.

The Bears are looking to go back-to-back after Bagent’s impressive debut last week.

Bagent, a product of Division II Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va., started in place of Justin Fields (right thumb) and completed 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown in Chicago’s 30-12 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

With receiver DJ Moore clicking, the Bears offense could do some business against a leaky Chargers defense.

And the Chargers don’t look like a team capable of covering this wide margin. Should be fun – for a while anyway.

The pick: Bears +8.5.

PROP CORNER

The good fortune Kirk Cousins found in leading the Minnesota Vikings past the San Francisco 49ers can’t continue.

In this road contest against the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings figure to begin more conservatively as the Packers employ lessons from last Monday night’s game tape (Cousins throwing everywhere – successfully).

The number is too high for a team that relied on a stolen 60-yard TD pass last week and remains without Justin Jefferson.

Prop play: Vikings’ Cousins under 250.5 passing yards (BetMGM).

–Field Level Media

The post Week 8 NFL betting preview: Inspecting the NY-NY matchup; Cousins to crash? | Nationwide appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Rumors are circulating again that the Minnesota Vikings may be selling quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​to the San Francisco 49ers. Yes, it’s incredibly upsetting to hear the rumors for what feels like the 15th time, but it was this comment from CBS Sports’ Adam Schein who said the 49ers would be “clearly” the best team in the NFL next season .

But wait, I was told Cousins ​​wasn’t good enough to win a Super Bowl? How can Cousins ​​make the 49ers the best team in the league unequivocally?

Our friend at The Daily Norseman, Christopher Gates, wrote about Cousins ​​being Schrodinger’s quarterback and it makes sense, but it misses the mark on one point

Cousins ​​would be considered the last piece, not the centerpiece.

The Vikings hired Cousins ​​as mercenaries in 2018. They had a Super Bowl roster that many, including the Vikings, thought was one quarterback away from getting there. Case Keenum had a really good breakaway season in 2017, leading the Vikings within 60 minutes of a Super Bowl spot. With the massive question marks surrounding all three Vikings quarterbacks following the 2017 season, Cousins ​​was the final piece of the puzzle.

The thought was that Cousins ​​would surpass the Vikings with an overloaded roster featuring Stefon Diggs, Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen on offense and the number one defense in football. In theory, Cousins ​​would only need to play able football. Things didn’t work out for many reasons and we continue to talk about cousins ​​here.

Sending him to San Francisco sounds pretty much the same, right?

They started three quarterbacks in 2022, with Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo breaking ankles later in the year. They ended the season with rookie Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy tearing up his UCL in the NFC Championship Game. You have the weapons in Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey. They’re also bringing back number one defense and have an offensive genius in Kyle Shanahan.

The story goes on

It’s not like Cousins ​​is suddenly a Super Bowl quarterback by joining the 49ers, but being that big of an improvement in position based on what they had before fits the same motive. Cousins ​​is a hired mercenary who aims to be the capable quarterback for a great team and nothing more.

Story originally appeared on Vikings Wire

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