New Orleans Saints vs. New York Jets Matchup Preview (12/12/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

New Orleans Saints vs. New York Jets Matchup Preview (12/12/21)

The New York Jets are hosting the New Orleans Saints this Sunday – both are at the bottom of their division and have rode the highs and lows of the 2021 season more aggressively than most teams. Both teams are coming off losses, the Saints to the Cowboys in last week’s Thursday night game and the Jets to the Eagles and their backup quarterback. While neither team is overflowing with talent, at least the Jets have been consistent. The Saints have been all over the place and practically fell apart at the seams upon Jameis Winston’s season-ending injury. They are now on a five-game losing streak after beating the Bucs in week 8, and the future looks bleak. They are struggling in several areas and are now 5-7. The Jets sit at 3-9 and continually struggle on defense but are getting Zach Wilson reincorporated after being out for four games. He threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns last week, a big improvement from his first game back the week before, and there is a solid chance he can continue those improvements against a waning Saints defense.

New Orleans Saints vs. New York Jets Betting Odds

Saints are the 5-point favored team in this game and the point total is set at 44. The Jets have allowed more points than any team in the league this year and their 7-5 winning record at hitting the over is a testament to these allowed points. They have failed to cover the spread 75% of the time and the Saints don’t have much to show for either, covering just 42% of the time. The Saints are at a rest advantage this week having played the Thursday night game last week, but are 0-1 on hitting the over with a rest advantage while the Jets are 0-1 on hitting the over with a rest disadvantage, so this should be interesting. If those disappointing stats weren’t enough, the Saints are also 1-4 at covering when they’re the favorite, so this will likely be a competition of who can make less mistakes. But even a wavering Saints team can beat the Jets defense this year, which I’m predicting they will. 

My prediction: Saints win 24-10, Saints cover, under 44

TV Schedule

Date: 12/12/21
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Location: MetLife Stadium – East Ruthersford, NJ
TV Coverage: CBS

New Orleans Saints vs. New York Jets Live Stream

Where can you watch Saints vs. Jets online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Saints vs. Jets Free Online Now.

New Orleans Saints Analysis

The quarterback vacancy left by Jameis Winston has plagued this team this year. Trevor Siemian was supposed to be the answer, but just wasn’t. He led them to four straight losses, the Saints’ first multi-game losing streak this season and had a 57% completion rate. Enter Taysom Hill, who took Siemian’s role as the starter last week against the Cowboys. Hill passed for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for 101 yards, which was promising. His 101 rushing yards in that game is five times the amount of rushing yards that Siemian had over the five games he played in. This additional running threat could be good for the Saints. But it wasn’t good enough last week; they still lost 27-17 to the Cowboys in what seemed like a close game until the fourth quarter where Hill threw three interceptions (and four total). It marked the fifth straight loss where the Saints didn’t score in the first quarter.

In Hill’s defense, he is battling a finger injury and getting thrown into your first start of the losing season against the Cowboy’s is not exactly easy. Siemian didn’t set the bar very high, so if Hill can keep his finger injury under control, he will probably start this week. The truth is, neither quarterback is the answer for this team. The real answer wears #2 and he tore his ACL in week 8. 

Outside of their struggle at quarterback, they’ve been trampled by other key injuries this year. Alvin Kamara is still out and questionable for a return this game, leaving the running game to Mark Ingram and Taysom Hill, who proved he could run the ball last week. Meanwhile, Deonte Harris, who has been their main receiving target this season, was just issued a three game suspension for a DUI and won’t be back until week 17. He caught 4 passes for a season-high 96 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys, and his absence will hurt an already-hurt offense. This offense averages 114.7 rushing yards per game which is in the top half of the league, but just doesn’t have consistency at quarterback or their passing game to have much of a potent offense.

At the beginning of the year, this defense was one of the best defenses in the league, and still have one of the best running defenses, but their pass defense has racked up over 3,000 yards against them this season. The Jets can’t do much, but they can throw the ball and will certainly look to bypass this side of the defense. Demario Davis leads the team in tackles with 80, and Marcus Davenport has recorded 5.5 sacks, and he is likely to record more against a weak Jets offensive line.

New Orleans Saints Depth Chart

QB: Trevor Siemian
RB1: Alvin Kamara
RB2: Mark Ingram
WR1: Marquez Callaway
WR2: Deonte Harris
WR3: Tre’Quan Smith
TE1: Adam Trautman
TE2: Juwan Johnson

New York Jets Analysis

The Jets are coming off a loss to the Eagles where they had a strong offensive showing in the first half but were held to a scoreless second half. Zach Wilson has made his return and while he is progressing, he lacks consistency. He has 11 interceptions over eight games behind a weak offensive line that’s allowed 25 sacks on the rookie. Last week’s game showed moments of brilliance in Wilson, throwing for 226 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest target has been Elijah Moore and the chemistry is definitely growing among this quarterback-receiver combination. He had six receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles last week. This offense averages 242.3 passing yards per game but just 84.7 rushing yards and virtually no running game. 

While the offense hasn’t been much to show for, the Jets defense is the real issue. They’ve allowed more yards and more points than any team in the league. They allow 263.4 passing yards per game and 133.4 rushing yards. Even against a struggling Saints offense, this won’t be enough. Their weak defense is held down by C.J. Mosley – he has 101 tackles this season and had 13 against the Eagles last week. 

The Jets have also found struggles in their special teams unit. They have had eight kickers since 2017 and three this year after struggling to find any level of consistency from them. They just signed Eddie Piniero and will be looking to change that. 

New York Jets Depth Chart

QB: Zach Wilson
RB1: Tevin Coleman
RB2: Ty Johnson
WR1: Jamison Crowder
WR2: Elijah Moore
WR3: Corey Davis
TE1: Ryan Griffin

New Orleans Saints vs. New York Jets Daily Fantasy Picks

Elijah Moore is getting better week over week and is getting more comfortable being Zach Wilson’s primary target. This offense won’t likely penetrate a strong Saints rush defense, so Wilson will probably keep targeting him this week. He had 20.6 points against the Eagles last week.

Taysom Hill should do very well this week – he can throw the ball and run the ball and last week showed his utility belt capabilities despite his four interceptions. He’s up against a defense that can’t contain either the run game or the passing game. Hill put up 20.66 points up against the Cowboys last week.