Monday Night Football: Jets vs. Lions Preview
On Monday, September 10th at 7:10 PM EST, rookie Sam Darnold and the New York Jets head to Detroit to take on Matthew Stafford and the Lions for the first Monday Night Football duel of the 2018 NFL season. Let’s preview the DFS and gambling implications of the first of two MNF games.
Jets vs. Lions Preview
When: Monday, 9/10 at 7:10 PM EST
Where: Ford Field in Detroit, MI
How: ESPN
Freshly anointed head coach Matt Patricia and the Detroit Lions will host the New York Jets and the third overall pick, Sam Darnold in the first episode of Monday Night Football on the season. The surprising announcement of Darnold starting immediately creates a bit of intrigue to start the season. The Jets have one of the best journeymen quarterbacks in Josh McCown who has proven in the last five years that he can bridge a franchise between QBs but have elected to let it rip.
Darnold, 21, had prolific results with the USC Trojans throwing for 7,229 yards and 57 touchdowns in his brief, two year collegiate career. In the preseason, Darnold completed 16 passes on 27 attempts for 148 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.
In the offseason, the Lions defense only lost Haloti Ngata, Tahir Whitehead and DJ Hayden but only brought in Devon Kennard and Christian Jones leaving the majority of the defensive unit intact. Unfortunately for the Lions, that was only good for the 27th best pass defense and 18th best rush defense. Not what you would call a scary first test for Darnold.
For the Jets, outside of Isaiah Crowell replacing the retired Matt Forte and losing Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the offense remains relatively the same. Quincy Enunwa returns healthy and Robby Anderson remains on the roster despite his issues off the field. They also added Terrell Pryor as a fourth option at WR.
TOP DRAFTKINGS VALUE
Sam Darnold
Bilal Powell
Kenny Golladay
Quincy Enunwa
Luke Willson
In DraftKings ‘Monday Night Special’ contests containing the two MNF games, Sam Darnold is the least expensive ($5900) of the QBs as opposed to Jared Goff ($7000) and Matthew Stafford ($6800). Without a premiere back to run the offense through, Darnold will likely have his opportunity to build continuity with his receivers.
Bilal Powell ($4800) and Quincy Enunwa ($4500) provide the most value on the slate for the Jets. Despite the predicted split between Powell and Crowell for the Jets, Powell’s career yards per carry of 4.4 gives him the edge to Crowell ($5000). With Jermaine Kearse unlikely to play on Monday Night, Terrell Pryor and Quincy Enunwa become value plays for the Jets. Before missing the entire 2017 season with a neck injury, Enunwa was picking up a lot of momentum as a legitimate WR option in DFS.
I have higher hopes for the receivers in the Rams/Raiders game with Amari Cooper, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks and Jordy Nelson and will be spending up ($9300) for Todd Gurley. This leaves two cheap options available with gunslinger Matt Stafford. Kenny Golladay ($4900) received a lot of attention for Stafford in the preseason and Luke Willson (Please get rid of one of those L’s Luke) who is only $3100 after being the understudy to Jimmy Graham for years in Seattle where he showed flashes of brilliance.
BETTING PICKS
Jets +7
Under 45
No Prop Bets
This game is going to be ugly. The Jets are sending out a 21 year old gunslinger who is the new face of their franchise. With only 27 professional (preseason) snaps under his belt, there will be some growing pains. I also don’t feel confident in Matt Patricia’s defense right out of the gate. He is taking over an entire production as the new head coach and he certainly hasn’t been able to concentrate solely on his defense over the summer. A low scoring game (Under 45), I think the Jets keep it close and cover the spread (+7)
Lions 21, Jets 17
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