Jets vs. Ravens odds, prediction, betting trends for 'Thursday Night Football'

Vinnie Iyer

Jets vs. Ravens odds, prediction, betting trends for 'Thursday Night Football' image

The Jets (5-8) are out of AFC playoff contention for the 2019 NFL season. They will be trying to play spoiler against the top-seeded team in the conference, the Ravens (11-2), on "Thursday Night Football" (8:20 p.m. ET, Fox, Amazon Prime Video, NFL Network).

Baltimore, coming off a gritty win in Buffalo, needs to keep winning to stay a full game ahead of New England for home-field advantage. It can't afford to look ahead to rematches with Cleveland and Pittsburgh in the final two weeks. New York, coming off a narrow win over Miami, are staring at losing out with Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

Will the Jets pull off a major upset? Or will the Ravens take care of business?

Here's everything to know about betting on Jets vs. Ravens in Week 15, including updated odds, trends and our prediction for "Thursday Night Football."

MORE: Get the latest NFL odds & betting trends at Sports Insider

Jets vs. Ravens odds for 'Thursday Night Football'

The Ravens have been dancing around two-touchdown favorite status all throughout the short week. The Jets have done well of late against a very favorable schedule, but the degree of difficulty is raised considerably here. The point total is tied more to how they might struggle against the Ravens' defense.

Jets vs. Ravens all-time series

The Ravens hold a 8-2 all-time edge. They lost the most recent meeting, however, 24-16 in 2016. Before then, the Ravens had won eight in a row after losing the first-ever meeting. When coach John Harbaugh has been around, the Ravens are 4-1.

Three trends to know

— 54 percent of spread bettors are on the Ravens despite the big number. 61 percent of moneyline bettors are solidly behind the Ravens.

— The Jets are also 5-8 against the spread this season. They are 4-1 straight up and 3-2 against the spread in the past five games. They have covered only once as losers, however.

— The Ravens have won eight straight games and covered in 7 of them. The total has gone under in three of their past four games.

MORE: Lamar Jackson passed Michael Vick as a QB long before record

Three things to watch

Lamar Jackson and the rushing record

The Ravens' NFL MVP-to-be quarterback needs 23 yards to get to 1,040 yards rushing on the season, breaking the 13-year-old single-year mark of Michael Vick, who briefly played for the Jets. Jackson is playing through a quadriceps injury, but that total is low enough for him to make history. The Ravens should do whatever they want with Jackson passing on the Jets' depleted back seven to grab a big lead, so once Jackson hits the mark by 5 rushing attempts, they might not force the issue with his running.

The Jets' run defense

New York has moved up to No. 2 against the run, allowing on average 78.8 yards per game. The Ravens are No. 1 offensively at 200.9 yards rushing per game. While that might help the Jets slow down Mark Ingram in the traditional running game, their mess at linebacker and having no Jamal Adams again to clean up at safety doesn't bode well when Jackson takes off.

The Ravens' secondary

The Jets have a decent receiving corps with Robby Anderson and slot man Jamison Crowder. But they both will struggle for Sam Darnold against the Ravens' cornerback combination of Marcus Peters, Jimmy Smith and Marlon Humphrey.

Stat that matters

The Ravens have the No. 5 scoring defense in the NFL, allowing on average 18.2 points per game. They are No. 9 against the pass and No. 6 against the run. The Jets have the No. 29 scoring offense at 17.4 points per game. They are No. 30 in passing and No. 31 in rushing. Nothing has to give here.

Jets vs. Ravens prediction

The Jets are overmatched here in most ways. They will do their best defensively to contain Jackson and the Ravens on the ground, but they will get burned plenty by the pass before wearing down. With Le'Veon Bell in a weird returning spot against a tough run defense and Darnold not seeing many open guys, it's hard to see the Jets moving the ball much offensively.

Ravens 30, Jets 10

Vinnie Iyer

Vinnie Iyer Photo

Vinnie Iyer, has been with TSN since 1999, not long after graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He has produced NFL content for more than 20 years, turning his attention to full-time writing in 2007. A native of St. Louis, Mo. but now a long-time resident of Charlotte, N.C. Vinnie’s top two professional sports teams are Cardinals and Blues, but he also carries purple pride for all things Northwestern Wildcats. He covers every aspect of the NFL for TSN including player evaluations, gambling and fantasy football, where he is a key contributor. Vinnie represents TSN as host of the “Locked On Fantasy Football” podcast on the Locked On network. Over his many years at TSN, he’s also written about MLB, NBA, NASCAR, college football, tennis, horse racing, film and television. His can’t-miss program remains “Jeopardy!”, where he was once a three-day champion and he is still avid about crossword puzzles and trivia games. When not watching sports or his favorite game show, Vinnie is probably watching a DC, Marvel or Star Wars-related TV or movie.