Jets vs. Broncos NFL Week 3 Picks and Predictions

Two very contrasting starts to the season for these two teams and the winless Jets take on the 2-0 Denver Broncos for their first home game of the season at Mile High. For your NFL picks, let's read my prediction below.

New York Jets vs. Denver Broncos

Sunday, September 26, 2021 - 04:05 PM EDT at Mile High

Can Zach Bounce Back?

It’s been a debut to forget for Zach Wilson as QB for the Jets. After getting battered and bruised by the Panthers in the opener, he threw up four picks to the Patriots last week as Bill Belichick worked his rookie-QB-defeating magic, and in all honesty for the most part they looked like they were intended for the defensive players. It was not a good show and it's safe to say any challenge they were mounting is done at +6600 for the AFC East at the best betting websites.

https://youtu.be/23ReyXOEP4Y

The offensive line has been attacked from the start and without Mekhi Becton now it looks weaker, although they did try and establish the run finally last week with Michael Carter sharing carries with Ty Johnson in the backfield. They will need to try and take some of the workload away from Wilson otherwise things will get on him.

Braxton Berrios was again the most targeted player for the Jets, making it twelve receptions from eighteen targets in the opening two games. Now I don’t want to disparage an NFL talent, but having him as the leader of your offense probably isn’t a good sign. Corey Davis is supposed to be the main man for them and will be looking to bounce back in this one.

Zach Wilson #2 of the New York Jets. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP.

It won’t be easy for Wilson to bounce back in a team fairly deficient of talent, but he’s young and talented so I don’t think it will hurt him in the long run. This week probably isn’t the one in which he’ll impress in, but in the long run, the Jets look like they have their guy for the future.

The Broncos, at Home, in September. Is It a Banker?

It always seemed to be the case that traveling to Mile High early in the season was a disadvantage for the visiting team. The high altitude makes it tough for players to breathe before acclimatizing and early in the season teams are generally less fit than they will be later in the year, but that mantra has fallen away in the last couple of seasons.

https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1439982937059987461?s=20

From 2012 to 2018 the Broncos had won 14-1 straight up in September, with the only loss coming at the start of that data-set, but the last four games have all been home losses for them. To Chicago and Jacksonville in 2019 and last year against Tampa Bay and Tennessee. Their record against the spread is more important to us and they’re 2-2 in the four losses, 13-6 over the nineteen games from 2012.

So, Another Win for the Broncos?

Whether any of the September numbers really mean anything is probably a moot point in the fixture this week. They are very good defensively and even with Bradley Chubb once again heading to surgery, they’ll scramble Wilson this week and should get another few interceptions added to his record.

Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars is sacked by A.J. Johnson #45 and Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos. Sam Greenwood/Getty Images/AFP.

They are doing well on offense and overcame the loss of Jerry Jeudy last week with Courtland Sutton stepping up a year after his ACL injury to have a career game with nine receptions for 159 yards. It was expected that KJ Hamler would be the second guy behind him but the tight ends put up better figures with Noah Fant scoring this week and Albert Okwuegbunam in the opener.

The running back duo of Melvin Gordon and rookie Javonte Williams are splitting the load there, it’s the rookie who’s been getting better figures, but Gordon getting the TDs so far this year.

Teddy Bridgewater has a remarkable record as a favorite in his career, but he’s never been favored by more than a TD so this is unknown territory for him. He’s not the type of player to rack up points, but his team really should do it against this opposition.

There’s a double-digit spread on this game and rightly so. It could be a long afternoon for Zach Wilson. It’s a very low total. It may be tempting to play a correlated parlay here of the Broncos -10 and OVER on the total of 41. It means you need the Jets to score some points which would put me off, so I'll stick with the simple one.

NFL Pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.