The New York Jets will take on the Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” to close out the Week 9 slate, and both teams need a win to keep pace in the AFC wild-card battle. New York will be gunning for its fourth straight win to improve to 5-3, while L.A. needs a victory to get back to .500 before a tough matchup against the Detroit Lions in Week 10.
Let’s break down the “MNF” clash and find some winning bets along the way, shall we?
New York Jets vs. Los Angeles Chargers betting odds and preview
Spread: Chargers -3.5, Over/under: 40.5, Moneyline: Chargers -194 | Jets +162
It’s not often you see a losing team set as a 3.5-point road favorite against a winning team, but that’s the case this week on our “Monday Night Football” matchup between the 3-4 Chargers and the 4-3 Jets.
This spread can be explained in a few different ways. For one, the Jets don’t have a powerful home-field advantage at MetLife Stadium. Oddsmakers also believe the Chargers are better than their 3-4 record, while the Jets are rated as a .500 or worse team.
New York ranks 31st in the NFL this season in yards per game, and the offense has scored more than 20 points just twice in seven games. The defense has propelled the Jets to some impressive wins, but the market still doesn’t respect Zach Wilson as a starting quarterback.
Justin Herbert, on the other hand, is still rated as an elite QB. Even though the Chargers won’t have Mike Williams or Josh Palmer for Monday night’s contest, oddsmakers still expect them to outscore the Jets in a crucial game for the AFC playoff race.
‘Monday Night Football’ betting picks
Under 40.5 (-110 FanDuel)
The Jets have found their recipe for success as they approach the midway point in the season. Wilson isn’t going to light up the scoreboard against anyone, so New York loves to play physical, low-scoring games and aims to force its opponent into more mistakes.
Herbert and the Chargers can put up a ton of points, sure, but they’ve struggled against elite competition this year. L.A. is averaging 24.9 points per game this season, but the offense managed just 17 points against the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs, the two best defenses it’s faced. Without two of their top three wide receivers on the field Monday night, the Chargers will have a tough time reaching 20 points in this matchup.
Justin Herbert – interception: Yes (+104 FD)
This Jets defense foams at the mouth when it gets to go up against a star quarterback. New York has already faced Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts this season on its home turf, and the defense forced them into eight combined interceptions.
Herbert has thrown only four picks this year, but three of them came against the Cowboys and Chiefs. Here comes another aggressive defense, and Herbert will be forced to target younger receivers he doesn’t fully trust yet.