The Seattle Seahawks will visit the New York Jets on Sunday, October 2nd at MetLife Stadium as both teams are struggling with quarterbacking issues of their own. These are the odds for fans who bet on NFL at top sportsbooks such as SBG Global:
Seahawks -3 (EV) 41½ (-110)
Jets +3 (-120) 41½ (-110)
It was a bittersweet week 3 for the Seahawks. They beat the San Francisco 49ers 37-18 but may have lost starting QB Russell Wilson to a left knee injury in the third quarter. Niners Eli Harold went for sack and pulled Wilson down in an awkward fashion. Harold was called for a horse collar penalty – which unfortunately did not involve putting an actual horse collar on him.
Wilson remained on the gridiron for a few moments before walking off and missing the first play of his career due to injury. Wilson did come back to complete one more pass to set up a Steven Hauschka field goal. Wilson threw 15 of 23 for 243 yards and one 18-yard scoring pass to tight end Jimmy Graham. Additionally, running back Christine ‘Sixteen’ Michael ran for 106 yards on 20 carries with two TDs.
The Jets had a disastrous showing against the Kansas City Chiefs, in particular QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. So bad in fact was their performance that head coach Todd Bowles – and this is a factual thing that did actually happen, so people who bet on NFL need not get riled up at these lines – called a “come-to-Jesus meeting.” Presumably to apologize to J.C. for making him weep again. Fitzpatrick completed fewer than 50% of his passes (20 of 44) for 188 yards, and was intercepted a career-high six times. Moreover, the Jets had a second-most all-time eight turnovers, two of which were returned for TDs. Finally, running back Matt Forte, whose forte against the Buffalo Bills was scoring three TDs, was kept to 65 rushing yards. The Jets lost 24-3.
Now, when we say that the Seahawks may have lost Wilson, it doesn’t mean that he can’t – or won’t – play against the Jets. The QB has been “lucky” three straight weeks; a sprained ankle in week 1, playing “less than whole” in week 2, and a sprained MCL in week three, but no serious injuries. Still, people who bet on NFL are starting to see a pattern here, one that might not have escaped Seattle head coach Pete Carroll – who said “there’s obviously consideration for that” when asked if he would give Wilson a two-week rest (sitting him out for the Jets game plus the subsequent bye week).
As for Fitzpatrick, he wasn’t injured but sure played like he was. Should Bowles consider starting a different QB against the Seahawks? Thanks to NJ.com’s Connor Hughes we know that Fitz is not much for picking himself up and dusting himself off following an underperformance. The veteran QB is 4-5 after throwing at least three interceptions in a game (3-2 since 2012) and has never once thrown for more than 300 yards following a three-interception. Furthermore, he has a history of throwing another interception – and not throwing a TD – in the following game. What would Jesus do?