Tom Brady's Injury Changes Patriots-Jaguars Betting Odds After Latest Update

The recent hand injury that Tom Brady suffered in practice won’t cause him to miss Sunday’s contest with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but there’s at least a chance it will affect the New England Patriots’ quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions. That seems to be the belief among gamblers, anyway, since the betting odds for the AFC Championship Game has seen a significant change.

Once 9.5-point favorites over the visiting Jaguars, the Patriots are only favored by 7.5 points at Las Vegas and online sportsbooks heading into the weekend, according to OddsShark. The shift in the betting line coincided with the news that Brady didn’t practice Thursday.

The quarterback jammed his throwing hand in practice Wednesday, though X-rays were negative. The team reportedly isn’t worried that he’ll have much trouble throwing the ball when Sunday’s game finally kicks off.

“Everything that I have heard, and [NFL Network Insider] Ian Rapoport has heard, over the past 24 hours or so since this injury first came to light is that Brady is expected to play and should be able to work himself into health as we get closer to Sunday here,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo said on “NFL Up to the Minute Live.” “So maybe he practices tomorrow, maybe today was just cautionary. You did see him out there with the gloves, seemed to be gesturing toward his hand at least a little bit uncomfortable. Certainly, Brady loves to get as many practice snaps as possible to get that communication with his guys, but Tom Brady missing a day of practice is not going to throw everything off for the Patriots.”

New England was nearly favored by two touchdowns when they hosted the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs. Brady threw for 337 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in an easy 35-14 victory. The quarterback has thrown at least two touchdown passes in each of his last four postseason games.

Brady is the favorite to win the 2017 NFL MVP award. He led the league in passing yards while throwing for 32 scores and eight interceptions.

Sunday’s game against Jacksonville will mark New England’s seventh straight appearance in the AFC Championship Game. The Patriots are 3-3 in their last six conference title games, going 3-1 at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots remain favored to win Super Bowl LII. They’ve been the Super Bowl favorites for the entire year, having lost just one game since Week 5.