Monday Night Football features yet another snoozer game this week, but at least gamblers can feast on this day-after-Christmas contest. Most sports books are listing New England (9-5 straight up, 7-7 against the spread) as a seven-point favorite with a total of 37. Bettors thinking upset can back the Jets on the money line for a plus-250 payoff.

The Patriots, who have won three of the last four Super Bowls behind the brains of Bill Belichick and arm of Tom Brady, are locked into the AFC's No. 4 seed for the playoffs. Therefore, gamblers should be cautious with their wagers since a number of starters could be given rest.

New York (3-11 SU, 5-9 ATS) never really had a chance this season, losing its top two quarterbacks (Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler) to season-ending injuries in September. Even Curtis Matin, one of the more durable players in league history, went down with a season-ender.

The Jets have lost eight of their last nine games, taking five of those defeats by double digits. The poor results have led to speculation that Herm Edwards might bolt from the Big Apple, with many reports suggesting that Kansas City could be his next destination. Edwards has said that he's not going anywhere, but only time will tell if that'll be the case.

Brooks Bollinger has played better in recent weeks and his touchdown-interception ratio (6/5) is much better than Testaverde's (0/6). He had his team in position to win last week at Miami, but the Dolphins rallied for a 24-20 victory. Nevertheless, the Jets hooked up their backers as nine-point underdogs.

Better might not even do Bollinger justice. In fact, the Wisconsin product was borderline brilliant in South Florida. Certainly from a numbers perspective, he had a career-best game, completing 28-of-42 passes for 327 yards, two touchdowns, and most importantly, zero interceptions.

New England hasn't dominated this season like its done through much of the last four years, but make no mistake, the Patriots are a serious threat in the playoffs. That notion was clearly evident last Saturday when Tom Brady led his team to a 28-0 home win over Tampa Bay. Brady was sensational, connecting on 20-of-31 throws for 258 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.

The perennial Pro-Bowl QB has set his career record for passing yards in a season (3,888), posting a touchdown interception ratio of 23/12. Brady has done so despite a rash of injuries both along the offensive line and to his running backs. His protection has been shaky and there hasn't been much of a threat from the running game.



However, that could be changing now that the backfield is almost entirely healthy. Corey Dillon has been banged up all year, averaging a pedestrian 3.6 yards per carry, but the workhorse who was so instrumental last year is seemingly coming around. Kevin Faulk and Patrick Pass have both missed big chunks of the year, but are now healthy and back in the mix.

New England has won five in a row against the Jets, including a 16-3 win in Foxboro three weeks ago. The Patriots hit the spread cover as 10-point favorites.

Belichick's bunch has won four of its seven road games both SU and ATS. Meanwhile, the Jets are 3-3 SU at home, 4-2 ATS. They are 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS as home underdogs.

The 'over' is 7-6 overall for the Patriots, 4-2 in their road games. Meanwhile, the 'under' is 7-6 for the Jets, but the 'over' is 3-2-1 in their home games at Giants Stadium.

The 'under' has cashed in four straight head-to-head meetings between these long-time AFC East rivals.

-Due to violent behavior at the Jets' last home game, beer won't be sold at this game.

-Brady will be making his 86th consecutive start for New England.

Kickoff on ABC is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern.