Over/Under: 43.5
Patriots Implied Team Total: 30.00
Jets Implied Team Total: 13.50
Vegas sees Bill Belichick having no problems reaching his 200th win as the coach of the New England Patriots, listing the Pats as 16.5-point favorites over the New York Jets, which is more than double what the next-highest spread is. While this one doesn't have the potential to turn into a high-scoring, back-and-forth game like some of the others, New England's 30-point implied team total is the highest on the slate.
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
FanDuel Price: $9,000
Tom Brady will look to bounce back from last week's lackluster performance in a much more favorable matchup against a Jets secondary that made Matt Moore look like, well, Tom Brady last week. On the year, only the Cleveland Browns rank worse than the Jets in schedule-adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per drop back. The Jets also rank seventh-worst in FanDuel points allowed to opposing quarterbacks.
Similar to Brees, Brady has some pretty wicked home splits to his name. Over the past three seasons, Brady has averaged 304 passing yards and 2.3 touchdowns while playing at home. The Pats have won 10 of those home games by at least 17 points, and Brady has averaged 327 yards and 2.8 touchdowns in such games.
Brady's salary is restrictive, but no quarterback boasts the upside he does with a 30-point implied team total. Our projections have him scoring more than any quarterback this week, and given the game script and matchup, it isn't hard to see why.
Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
FanDuel Price: $6,700
Julian Edelman was able to remain productive last week, despite New England's struggles to move the ball through the air, accounting for 37.5 percent of the target and catch market share, as well as 39.9 percent of the passing yardage. That marked his fifth-straight game with at least 11 targets, a stretch over which he has averaged an absurd 13.4 targets per game. Per our trends tool, his 33.2 percent target market share over the past five weeks is the highest of any player in the NFL.
He should be heavily involved once again this week against New York's weak secondary. If he is able to find the end zone as part of New England's impending scoring barrage, he could be in for a huge day. He makes a lot of sense as a pairing option with Brady and is surprisingly affordable at $6,700.
Dion Lewis, RB, New England Patriots
FanDuel Price: $5,100
Dion Lewis led the New England backs in snaps, carries, and yards last week, totaling 104 scrimmage yards on 20 touches. Despite this, he comes into this one over $2,000 cheaper than LeGarrette Blount, providing an excellent value play if you think his usage from last week carries over to Week 16.
The Jets boasted an imposing run defense early in the year, but they have looked defeated in recent weeks, as the 4-10 squad crawls to the finish line. New York has given up over 100 rushing yards to opposing backs in four of their past six games, as well as a 4.7 yards per attempt average.
As pointed out previously by Raybon, backs perform much better from a fantasy perspective when playing as favorites. With New England almost certain to be playing with a lead in this one, Lewis should see as many carries and scoring opportunities as the Hoodie feels comfortable giving him.