Thursday Night Football betting: Public is split on whether Patriots can keep it close against Jets

The New England Patriots are off to a surprising start to the 2024 campaign, posting a 1-1 record through two games with a plus-three point differential. It's not exactly something to write home about, but it's much better than most of us saw for a team that had the smallest preseason win total projection.

Between their early competitiveness and fresh memories of New England's usual dominance over the New York Jets, bettors aren't completely sold that the Pats can't keep things close on the road against New York on Thursday night.

Betting for the game has been split almost right down the middle.

Related: NFL Week 3 picks against the spread

New England actually has the slight edge in terms of total tickets on the six-point spread at BetMGM, with 52% picking the Pats to cover. New York has the edge in total money on the spread at 53%.

The splits are almost even on the 38.5-point total too. Though the total tickets and money both favor the under, it's only by splits of 53-47 and 54-46, respectively.

The only place there's a real consensus is where the money is on an outright winner, with the Jets getting 62% of handle on the moneyline. New York snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Pats in last year's season finale, and though bettors can foresee a close contest, they clearly don't expect a new streak to start with Bill Belichick gone.

Related: NFL Week 3 player props

As for player props, bettors think Rhamondre Stevenson is in line for a busy night. The two most popular bets are the over on his rushing attempts at 15.5, and the over on his receptions at 2.5.

The favored Jets prop is Breece Hall to go over 30.5 receiving yards.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Thursday Night Football betting: Public is split on whether Patriots can keep it close against Jets