The New York Jets’ upset bid of the New England Patriots may have been thwarted in overtime last week, but the 29-26 loss did improve Gang Green’s record against the spread this season to an impressive 5-2. They will seek to beat the line for a fourth straight week Sunday when they face the Miami Dolphins as 2-point home favorites, according to the Week 8 NFL odds.

The Jets fell to 3-4 straight-up with the loss to the Patriots, but a much-improved effort on both sides of the ball resulted in the Jets beating the 11-point spread. Quarterback Mark Sanchez had easily his best game of the season when throwing for 328 yards on 28 of 41 passing and the defense did an admirable job of containing the Patriots no-huddle attack.

A big reason for the Jets improved passing game was the emergence of wide receiver Jeremy Kerley and tight end Dustin Keller. The former has moved into the No. 1 receiver role following the loss of Santonio Holmes. He finally played like it against the Patriots, catching seven balls for 120 yards.

Keller was making just his second appearance since missing a month’s worth of games because of a bad hamstring. He was limited to just one catch upon his return against the Colts last week, but took a huge step forward against the Patriots with seven catches for 93 yards including a touchdown.

Now the Jets will have their second and final matchup of the year against the division-rival Dolphins. In Week 3 the Jets traveled to Miami and came away with a 23-20 overtime victory as 1-point road favorites. Two weeks ago the Dolphins, who are coming off a bye, beat the St. Louis Rams 17-14 as 5.5-point home favorites to improve their straight-up record to 3-3.

Despite falling to the Pats, all reports indicate the Jets came out of the loss more encouraged than discouraged because they proved able to play with one of the AFC’s elite teams. They appear a much better team than the one that struggled to beat the Dolphins back in Week 3. The chances appear good the Jets will improve on their excellent record against the spread this week.

By: SBRForum.com