Falcons open as a pick ‘em on the road against the Jaguars

Hi there. You probably didn’t expect to be here — but here you are. The same greeting to the Atlanta Falcons, who were just surgically picked apart at home by the New England Patriots 25-0, their first shutout at home since 1988.

It’s been two consecutive terrible weeks for these Falcons, with the 43-3 thrashing at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys immediately followed up by Thursday’s drubbing by the Patriots. The Falcons now head down to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars, and DraftKings Sportsbook opened the odds at even in the coming game between these two abjectly terrible football teams.

Like Falcons fans, even Vegas appears to want to stay away from this one. As the Jags have yet to play, however, this line will surely move — but the quality of viewing content appears locked in.

These are two teams in the midst of tailspin seasons. The Jacksonville Jaguars are a dreadful 2-7, and the Falcons are an awful-but-not-equally-as-awful 4-5.

For the Falcons, the story of the season is not unlike trying to plug a leak in a dam. Once you’ve got that area patched, another gives way. If it’s not the offense it’s the defense; if it’s not the defense it’s the coaching; if it’s not the coaching it’s Mercury in retrograde.

Atlanta has been unable to cobble together a complete 60 minutes on the field, and that reflects in the opening line for next Sunday’s game.

The Jaguars take on the 4-5 49ers this Sunday, and the results from that will impact how the bettors feel in this tilt between Atlanta and Jacksonville.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.