The Hall of Fame Game is already in the books, and while Chicago beat Houston, 21-17, we didn’t really see any of the key playmakers who the Texans and Bears will roll out there for us this NFL season.
The first week of the preseason is about to start, so let’s take a look at the schedule and some sports betting picks.
I don’t bet heavy on the preseason, because it’s more about player development and seeing who’s going to fill out the bottom of the depth chart, and also because teams just don’t show a lot of what they’re going to do on either side of the ball in preseason action, keeping things simple.
Even so, here is our preview of the games between August 8 and 11.
NFL Preseason Week 2 Betting Preview: Odds, Analysis, Picks
Thursday, August 8
- Carolina Panthers (+6.5) at New England Patriots (O/U 33.5) (7:00 pm ET, NFL Network)
- Detroit Lions (+3.5) at N.Y. Giants (O/U 34.5) (7:00 pm ET)
Friday, August 9
- Houston Texans (-2.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (O/U 37.5) (7:00 pm ET, NFL Network)
- Philadelphia Eagles (-1) at Baltimore Ravens (O/U 34.5) (7:00 pm ET, NFL+)
Atlanta Falcons (-2.5) at Miami Dolphins (O/U 37.5) (7:00 pm ET, NFL+)
Atlanta (-2.5) on the road might be surprising, until you look at the quarterbacks down the depth chart. Yes, the Falcons inked Kirk Cousins to a massive deal, but he won’t play much in August and won’t see the field at all in this game. That leaves the likes of Michael Penix Jr, Taylor Heinicke, and Nathan Rourke. That’s better than the backups that the Dolphins have (Mike White and Skylar Thompson). Penix Jr has a high learning curve coming in from college, but Heinicke has shown serviceability as an NFL quarterback. I also think we will see Bijan Robinson pounding the ball for the Falcons, at least for a couple of series. Those factors have me leaning away from the Dolphins.
Falcons to win and cover.
^Saturday, August 10
Kansas City Chiefs (+2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (O/U 40.5) (7:00 pm ET, NFL Network)
Jacksonville (-2) against Kansas City is an interesting game. Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson has already committed to having his starters on the field for a minimum of one series. That means that Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville offense could have a couple of cracks at the Kansas City backups on defense.
Even if Kansas City has their starters out on defense to begin the game, they are the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champions. They don’t have a lot fo prove in Florida. The Jaguars have a lot more to prove after their collapse to end the 2023 campaign.
If you look at the Jacksonville depth chart, after Trevor Lawrence we see Mac Jones and C.J. Beathard.
Who will Kansas City have on the field? Carson Wentz is the new backup, but Chris Oladokun and Ian Book are likely to get most of the action in this one. For Jacksonville, Beathard is a quarterback who has starting experience (13 games).
He has posted a 3-10 record in those games, with a 19:14 TD:INT ratio. That’s a lot more serviceable than the signal-callers behind Mahomes.
Jacksonville to win and cover.
^- Washington Commanders (-2.5) at N.Y. Jets (O/U 34.5) (12:00 pm ET, NFL+)
- Chicago Bears (-1) at Buffalo Bills (O/U 37.5) (1:00 pm ET, NFL Network)
- Las Vegas Raiders (-3.5) at Minnesota Vikings (O/U 38.5) (4:00 pm ET, NFL Network)
- Green Bay Packers (+3.5) at Cleveland Browns (O/U 39.5) (4:25 pm ET, NFL+)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+4) at Cincinnati Bengals (O/U 38.5) (7:00 pm ET, NFL+)
- San Francisco 49ers (+5) at Tennessee Titans (O/U 38.5) (7:00 pm ET, NFL+)
- Seattle Seahawks (-2.5) at L.A. Chargers (O/U 34.5) (7:05 pm ET, NFL+)
- New Orleans Saints (-2) at Arizona Cardinals (O/U 36.5) (8:00 pm ET, NFL+)
Sunday, August 11
- Denver Broncos (-1) at Indianapolis Colts (O/U 37.5) (1:00 pm ET, Network)
- Dallas Cowboys (-4) at L.A. Rams (O/U 35.5) (4:30 pm ET, Network)
A rookie @PatrickMahomes adapting to the NFL in his first preseason back in 2017 ⏮️
— NFL (@NFL) August 7, 2024
📱: Watch live out-of-market preseason games at home or on the go, streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/z4iVh7Ift5
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