The New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys are expected to absolutely annihilate their Week 3 opponents. Both teams are favored by over 20 points, with the Patriots entering the week as 22.5-point favorites against the New York Jets and the Cowboys sitting minus-21.5 for their matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
According to the Buffalo News’ Nick Veronica, the last time two teams were 20-plus-point favorites in the same week was in 1987, the strike season when teams were using replacement players from Weeks 4 to 6. In Week 5, the San Francisco 49ers was favored by 23 points over the Atlanta Falcons after quarterback Joe Montana decided to end his involvement in the strike and play. With Randy White at defensive tackle, the Cowboys were favored by 21.5 over the Philadelphian Eagles.
The Cowboys and 49ers both won, but neither covered.
It’s not flattering historical context for the Dolphins and the Jets. Miami has been slowly trading away their best players (Laremy Tunsil, Minkah Fitzpatrick) when arming themselves for a rebuild in the coming years. The Jets, however, seemed like a team which was capable of winning games before sustaining a rash of injuries, which included availability issues with their top two quarterbacks Sam Darnold (illness) and Trevor Siemian (ankle).
The Patriots remain kings of the AFC East. After 20 years with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady at the helm, New England’s dominance may be even more intense than ever.
