Atlanta Falcons vs New York Jets: First game in London to be tough & low scoring

The 2021 NFL season has two games scheduled in London. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins will play in the British capital on October 17, and the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets will play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 10. Let's pick a few options to bet on the first game of the NFL teams' road trip at once.

There is less and less doubt that the 2016 Super Bowl loss will remain the pinnacle of quarterback Matt Ryan's career. Quite the opposite, the 36-year-old playmaker is still holding his own, performing at a pretty decent level. In 4 games of the new season, 67.9% completion, 990 yards per pass and 8 touchdowns to 3 interceptions. Not the best, but still pretty decent numbers. Except that the Falcons are still falling apart right in front of our eyes. The team finished last season with 4 wins. And it's not certain that even that low bar will be conquered by the team from Georgia this season. So far, it’s 1-3. Defeats to Philadelphia, Tampa, and Washington, where the Falcons conceded consistently more than 30. And there’s also a forced 17-14 win over the New York Giants.

The complete change of coaching staff seems to have had no effect on Atlanta so far. Arthur Smith, former offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Tennessee, is now in charge. The offensive coordinator is Dave Ragone, who spent the last few seasons as quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears. The defensive coordinator is Dean Pees. He is a very experienced 72-year old who worked in similar positions for Baltimore and Tennessee in recent years.

Like Atlanta, the New York Jets changed their head coach in the offseason. Now the team is led by Robert Saleh, a charismatic specialist who successfully worked as defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. His appointment would seem to be an interesting and promising move. But is he really the right guy for the Jets? A team that selected quarterback Zach Wilson with the No.2 overall pick in last year's draft is betting on a defensive coordinator at the head coaching position. An unusual move, to say the least.

On the other hand, Saleh didn't move from San Francisco alone, but in company with 49ers pass rush coordinator and now New York Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Maybe the duo will work out after all? We'll see, but so far it hasn't worked out so well: Zach Wilson has 8 interceptions and just 4 touchdowns, and 925 yards passing. And the Jets have 3 losses in 4 games, with absolutely the worst offense in the league right now. But the defense is 14th!

• Atlanta Falcons: Erik Harris (S), Marlon Davidson (DT), Russell Gage (WR), Isaiah Oliver (CB), Cameron Nizialek (P) – questionable.
• New York Jets: Marcus Maye (S) – not playing. Elijah Moore (WR), La'Mical Perine (RB), Jeff Smith (WR), Hamsah Nasirildeen (LB) – questionable.

The Jets had beaten the Falcons in their previous two head-to-head games. However, both were in the preseason.

The last meeting between the teams in the NFL regular season took place in 2017 when Atlanta beat New York 25-20 on their field.

The Jets are off to a bad start, but what can they do? Rookie quarterbacks are almost always very insecure in their first games. Zach Wilson was no exception. Still, the Week 4 matchup against Tennessee might inspire optimism. New York snatched the win in overtime and finally showed some decent offensive play.

Atlanta, on the other hand, is hopeless at the start of the league. Mostly on defense, although the Falcons now have a very strong defensive coordinator. So, Atlanta may even be a rightful favorite of the bookmakers, having a chance to outplay the Jets who are just starting to build up. But there's little doubt that if they do, they'll do it with great difficulty.

Our prediction is based on the New York team, their good defense, and a weak offense so far. You should consider a plus handicap and low total for the Jets.

Betting options:

• Handicap Jets (+3.5) for 1.69;
• Individual Total Atlanta Under (24.5) for 1.73.