Is history on the Eagles’ side vs. the Jets? You bet

The Eagles have never lost to the Jets. In a series that goes back nearly 50 years, just after the NFL merged with the AFL, Philadelphia has played New York 11 times and won them all. Cool, right?

What’s even better is that the Eagles are 10-1 against the spread against the Jets.

It’s a stat that is precious, though meaningless as it relates to Sunday. The last time these two played one another was 2019. It was before the pandemic, each team had different quarterbacks and different coaches. In addition to Jordan Howard, the Birds who scored touchdowns that day were Nate Gerry, Zach Ertz, and Orlando Scandrick.

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A couple weeks after that 2019 game, Scandrick was cut by the Eagles, roasting Malcolm Jenkins and Howie Roseman on his way out the door. Good times.

The line was at Eagles -7 early in the week, with DraftKings briefly flashing 7.5 — an important move for an NFL game. The Birds are 6-6 against the spread this season, 4-3 on the road. The Jets are 3-8 against the number, 2-3 at MetLife Stadium.

Clay Martin will lead the officiating crew. The Eagles are 2-2 straight-up and against the spread in games Martin is the head referee. They most recently saw Martin and his crew in the Week 6 loss to the Buccaneers when Martin called a crucial (and questionable) taunting penalty on Eagles linebacker Gerard Avery to help the Bucs salt away the game.

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In a 2019 win against the Packers, Eagles radio play-by-play announcer Merrill Reese was so incensed with a call overturned by replay that he hilariously said, “The referee is Clay Martin, who tonight is a clay pigeon.”

The Jets are 0-3 with Martin as the lead official, failing to cover all three.

WOW: Paul Smith, owner of Australian pro basketball teams Sydney Kings (men) and Sydney Flames (women), said his clubs are not interested in milking the cow of sports-betting revenue. “Our own players have been victim to abuse on social media because betting got out of hand,” he said. “By working with GambleAware [Australia’s Gamblers Anonymous], we are encouraging our fans and the community to stay within their means and to not let betting take away from what sport should be about.”

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CFB: Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud was leading SugarHouse/NJ’s Heisman odds entering last week at -200 with Alabama’s Bryce Young at +110. After the Buckeyes lost and the Tide won, Young is -200 and Stroud is +400. Defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson, the best player all year for No. 2 Michigan, wasn’t on the board last week. His odds are third at +600.

L.A. Chargers at Cincinnati, 1 p.m., CBS: L.A. allowed Justin Herbert to be pressured 19 times on 47 dropbacks against Denver last week. Meanwhile, the Bengals defense has registered 14 sacks and five interceptions in its last five games while allowing just eight TD passes. The pick: Cincinnati at -3, but lower expectations if the line gets higher.

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Eagles at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m., CBS: The Jets are 27th against the run and the 20 rushing touchdowns they’ve allowed is a league high. The pick: The Eagles - 6.5 is high, so a teaser (with the Patriots?) is in order.

Denver at Kansas City, 8:20 p.m., NBC: Patrick Mahomes is 7-0 against the Broncos in his career, with 10 TDs and a 102.4 rating. The pick: Make it 8-0, but Denver covers the 10.5.

New England at Buffalo, Monday, 8:15 p.m., ESPN: It’s December and the Patriots are on a roll. Maybe we’re getting back to normal after all. The pick: Here’s the back end of that teaser, taking New England from +2.5 to +8.5.

Chief executive officer Jason Robins set off a raging fire this week when he said DraftKings isn’t interested in booking sharp bettors, only squares.

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“This is an entertainment activity,” he said, according to a story by Legal Sports Report. “People who are doing this for profit are not the players we want.”

Professional bettors are forever griping about an inability to place wagers at legal sportsbooks because their win percentages are often higher than the general public. This is a bigger problem with mobile betting, but it’s inherently unfair nonetheless.

Matt Metcalf, director of Circa Sports in Vegas, had a wonderful reply (which we cleaned up grammatically).

“We only want players who are trying to profit,” he tweeted. “If you are trying to lose, go somewhere else. You sound like a weirdo.”