Best Bets: Jaguars at Saints (TNF Open Thread)

The big question heading into this week’s Thursday Night Football game is the availability of Trevor Lawrence. The Jacksonville Jaguars young quarterback suffered a knee injury against the Colts in Week 6 and on the short week, drew the questionable tag for tonight’s game. Lawrence has been optimistic about his chances to play and the line has shifted in that direction since it opened at Jaguars +3.

The matchup against the New Orleans Saints is an interesting one. The Saints haven’t really played a team that is making much noise. Their best opponent so far is probably the Bucs, who they lost to 26-9 or maybe last week’s game in Houston (seems odd to say), which they lost by a touchdown. They barely escaped a Week 2 match against the Panthers and collapsed in the second half to the Packers after losing Derek Carr for the game. I’m underwhelmed by their start, but their defense looks legit.

The Jaguars also have a loss to the Texans on their ledger along with a loss against the Chiefs in Week 2. Their most impressive win came in Week 5 against Buffalo over in London where the Bills looked lethargic for most of that one. The Jaguars are a team with designs to go places this season and this is one of those games against a middling team where you have to put them away.

I think the Jags are the better team and on a short week with a shorter window to game plan, I’ll take the more talented squad. The Saints defense should keep the score low as they have most of the season.

Picks: Jacksonville +1, Under 40

(Numbers courtesy of our partners at DraftKings Sportsbooks)

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