The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Atlanta Falcons wind up their NFL preseason schedules on Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Falcons’ sparkling new home. Jacksonville fell to Carolina by a point a week ago, while Atlanta lost to Arizona, 24-14, on Friday. The two teams tangled in the preseason finale a year ago, with the Falcons squeaking by in a 17-15 decision. Let’s take a look at the reasons why the Jaguars are underdogs against the Falcons this Thursday.
Atlanta’s defense did show some signs of life against Arizona. Deion Jones, the second-year linebacker, had five overall tackles, including one for loss. He made 108 tackles and three interceptions a year ago as a rookie, and he looks to build on that success with the Falcons in the coming season. Last year, Atlanta’s defense was fast — and really young. The hope here for Atlanta is that the scheme will re-emerge as a dominant element of their team and make more opportunities for their offense to score with short fields.
NFL Preseason Week 4: Jacksonville at Atlanta Betting Lines & Analysis
When: Thursday, August 31, 2017, 7:00 PM ET Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta TV: Local Affiliates Only Radio: WJXL 1010 AM (Jacksonville) / 92.9 FM The Game (Atlanta) Live Stream: NFL Live NFL Preseason Odds: Atlanta -3.5, O/U 39Focus shifts to the offensive line as the team heads into their final preseason game. pic.twitter.com/SI1UK7Ci4v
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) August 29, 2017
Weather Forecast
- Chance of Thunderstorm: 26°C/79°F
- Humidity: 75%
- Precipitation: 47%
- Wind: 6 mph SE
- Cloud Cover: 80%
- Type of Stadium: Retractable
Why should you bet on the Jaguars?
Well, the Jaguars do have some closure on their quarterback controversy. Chad Henne got the start in Week 3 of the preseason, but he went just 8 for 14 for 73 yards. Blake Bortles came on in relief and went 12 for 16 for 125 yards, with a score and an interception. Leonard Fournette, the rookie running back sensation from LSU, did not appear last week and is not expected to this week, but with T.J. Yeldon and Chris Ivory still in camp, the Jaguars should have some success running the ball. The Jaguars have real issues on defense. Their line is not getting much pressure at all on opposing quarterbacks — they didn’t reach the Carolina signal-callers at all last week — and Carolina scored three times on four trips into the Red Zone. If you like the Jaguars in this matchup, then you see them doing a much better job locking down the holes in the running game and then getting some better coverage in place. The Jaguars are 4-1 against the spread in their last five road games, so perhaps they can pull that focus together for this week.Why should you put your money on the Falcons?
Is it time to worry about Matt Ryan? He went just 4 for 11 for 36 yards and an interception against Arizona. In three preseason games, Ryan has thrown just one touchdown. Matt Schaub did look solid in this game, going 5 for 6 for 25 yards, and Schaub should get a good deal of action against the Jaguars. However, the other Falcon stars also struggled. Julio Jones lined up on the ball for the first time this preseason, because he had been recovering from a foot injury, but he did not have any catches. The Falcons struggled to run the ball too, picking up just 71 yards as a team on 25 attempts. These struggles could really turn into a problem if they persist against a Jacksonville team that is just struggling to play at a consistent level.
Atlanta’s defense did show some signs of life against Arizona. Deion Jones, the second-year linebacker, had five overall tackles, including one for loss. He made 108 tackles and three interceptions a year ago as a rookie, and he looks to build on that success with the Falcons in the coming season. Last year, Atlanta’s defense was fast — and really young. The hope here for Atlanta is that the scheme will re-emerge as a dominant element of their team and make more opportunities for their offense to score with short fields.
Team Series History
- Total Meetings: 6
- First Meeting: December 22nd, 1996. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Jacksonville, Florida
- Last Meeting: December 20th, 2015. EverBank Field. Jacksonville, Florida
- All-Time Series: Tied 3-3-0
- Largest Margin of Victory: Atlanta 41-14 (2011)
- Longest Win Streak: Atlanta 2 (2011-2015)
- Current Win Streak: Atlanta 2 (2011-2015)
