The National Football League will stage their fourth of seven International Games this weekend when the Denver Broncos and New York Jets tangle in London. The Jets have not been able to win in this country, maybe they will have better luck at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England.
The Jets are the only team without a win this year and it is not what new head coach Aaron Glenn was hoping for when he left the winningest team in the NFC, the Detroit Lions, to coach the only team in either conference to not have at least one win through five weeks.
While New York hasn’t notched a victory yet this season, they have been in three of their games while getting edged by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins by two, two and six points respectively. Last week, they actually kicked off against the Dallas Cowboys as a home favorite and got blown out of the stadium by the Dallas Cowboys.
If the Jets were able to stay close to three teams, how did they allow Dallas to crush them in front of their home fans?
I had the Jets in that game, thought it was a very sweet spot for them still looking for a first victory with the Cowboys coming off an emotional 40-40 tie against the talented Green Bay Packers. What I missed in that game was that the weaker team, New York, was confident that it was a good spot for them too … which is a motivational trap.
Underdogs are best when they think they are in trouble and have to play their best just to survive … like the New York Giants played last night against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Well, the Jets didn’t have that spike in their step last week, but they will this Sunday on the road.
Their opponent has climbed to the top of the AFC West standings, tied with the Los Angeles Chargers and a game up on the Kansas City Chiefs and two up on the Las Vegas Raiders. Last Sunday, Sean Payton’s squad turned a 17-3 fourth quarter deficit against the then undefeated and defending Super Bowl Champion Eagles in Philadelphia to a dramatic come-from-behind win. Denver scored 21 unanswered fourth quarter points which included a confidence building two-point conversion to shift a one-point deficit to an 18-17 lead midway through the final quarter.
Can you imagine the upbeat mood on the Broncos flight home from Philadelphia? I bet the team was still overcome with confidence on the long flight out of the country. I suspect the flight back to Denver will not be as joyful.
Being alone in the standings in the NFL, either as the lone unbeaten or only team without a win, is usually a short-lived prospect. Note, last Sunday when the Eagles dropped their first game of the season to the Broncos, leaving only the Buffalo Bills with an unblemished record, the Bills were upset on their home field by the New England Patriots in the Sunday night matchup.
The Jets thought they were going to shed the winless tag last Sunday, on the same day the New Orleans Saints won their first game of the season. They didn’t then, but they will now.
I hate these 6:30 a.m. starts, which is the time in Las Vegas when the Broncos and Jets will kick off from London on Sunday morning. There has to be special circumstances to make a game on a neutral field in a foreign country a rated play.
Welcome to special circumstances.
Qoxhi Picks: New York Jets (+7) over Denver Broncos