Atlanta (1-0) at NY Jets (1-0)
When: Monday, August 22nd 2022
Where: MetLife Stadium,
East Rutherford, NJ
Time: 8:00 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: Atlanta -3/43.5
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The Atlanta Falcons will visit the New York Jets on Monday Night Football to conclude Week 2 of the NFL preseason schedule. The Jets opened their 2022 preseason with a 24-21 road victory over the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend thanks to going 8-of-15 on third down conversions. Starting quarterback Zach Wilson left that game with a knee injury and will be sidelined for the rest of August and hopes to be ready for Week 1. The Falcons also won their preseason opener on the road – a 27-23 victory at the Detroit Lions. The game opened with New York as a 1.5-point favorite, but the Falcons are now the favorites at -2.5 and a total of 38.5.
These teams played in the regular season last year and Atlanta won 27-20, outgaining the Jets 450-230 yards. This will be the first preseason meeting since 2019 when New York won 22-10 in Atlanta. The Jets have dominated the exhibition meetings, winning and covering easily in each of their past four dates with Atlanta. The Falcons have scored 16 or fewer in three of those. New York is 6-1 straight-up in their last seven preseason games, covering the spread in five of those. Atlanta has won just twice in the preseason since the 2016 season.
Atlanta played their first game in a long time without Matt Ryan on the roster and the new quarterbacks didn’t disappoint. At least for one meaningless week. Marcus Mariota guided Atlanta to a touchdown in his only possession before Desmond Ritter took over. The rookie from Cincinnati threw two touchdowns and rushes for a game-high 59 yards. Mariota is still expected to get the start in Monday’s contest, but a strong performance by Ritter in joint practices on Friday and Saturday should give him some additional snaps on Monday. Rookie wide receiver Drake London, who is expected to be a big part of the offense, remains questionable after he tweaked his knee in last week’s victory. Atlanta will host Jacksonville next week in their only home preseason contest.
With Wilson on the shelf, the team must find a suitable replacement in case he’s not back in time for Week 1 of the regular season. Mike White played in four games last season and had a 405-yard performance in an upset win over Cincinnati in Week 8. Last week, White was 10-of-20 for 98 yards and no touchdowns. White is expected to shar the duties on Monday with Joe Flacco, who has not looked great in practice. Chris Streveler threw two touchdown passes in last week’s win after seeing limited action for the Arizona Cardinals last year. New York will ‘host’ the New York Giants next week.
These teams are complete opposites when it comes to preseason games. The Falcons are just 2-15 SU since 2017 and have covered just twice in their past 10 preseason road contests. The Jets on the other hand, are 5-2-1 SU over the last eight preseason games. I give the edge to New York in this one at home.
Pick: Jets +2.5
