The Green Bay Packers are one of the top contenders for the Super Bowl this season because of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He is so valuable to the team that Rodgers may see little to no action in the team’s second preseason game of the year against the Washington Redskins.
If Rodgers doesn’t play, that will be a boost to Washington’s chances to win this game. Kirk Cousins seems likely to take some snaps at quarterback for the Redskins, and if he can lead a scoring drive or two it would put Washington in the driver’s seat.
The Redskins are at home in this game and could have their quarterback in the game longer, so it makes sense that they will be favored in this game even though the Packers would be the team to beat if they met in the regular season.
This game in Week 2 of the preseason contest will go down Saturday, August 19, 2017, at 4:30 p.m. ET at FedEXField in Landover, Maryland.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Green Bay Packers +3.5
Washington Redskins -3.5
Over/Under 40.5
Odds Analysis
Home field advantage is usually worth three points in the regular season, and it makes sense as well in the preseason. While the crowd isn’t as raucous, Green Bay will need to travel and that is a benefit for Washington. However, a lot of preseason games are low-scoring and close, so that extra half-point beyond a field goal could play a big role in which team covers the spread.
Quarterback Rotation
Rodgers didn’t played in the preseason opener. In most cases even the best quarterbacks in the NFL will at least get some work in the second and third preseason games to simply stay in a rhythm. However, Tony Romo’s season-ending injury in the 2016 preseason may be in the mind of several coaches. While it worked out fine because Dak Prescott stepped in, no coach wants to put a star quarterback like Rodgers in harm’s way.
Whether Rodgers plays for a little bit or not, the Packers won’t be getting too much out of him in this one. Joe Callahan should see more action and he hopes to have another nice outing. Callahan was 10-of-16 for 103 yards last time out.
Brett Hundley went 8-of-15 for 90 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and as the backup, he may play a decent amount of this one. Taysom Hill was 4-of-5 for 69 yards and a touchdown in the victory last week and should see work.
Cousins played two series for the Redskins last time out but completed only one of his two passes and went three-and-out twice. He figures to play a chunk of the first quarter, and if he is in the game longer than Rodgers, that’s a big help for Washington.
Colt McCoy is a pretty solid backup but he finished only 6-of-13 for 40 yards with an interception last week and needs to improve. Nate Sudfeld was 5-of-12 for 68 yards, but the Redskins quarterbacks should be better in this one.
Coaching History
Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy is 24-20 in his career during the preseason. He has coached his team to a good deal of success lately, going 3-1, 2-2 and 3-1 over the past three years before winning the opener this season.
Washington coach Jay Gruden is an impressive 9-4 in his preseason tenure. The Redskins have gone 3-1 in each of his first three seasons at the helm. Washington lost its first game of the preseason so has to be flawless the rest of the way to keep the streak alive. But clearly Gruden has found a lot of success in the preseason, and that can’t be discounted.
Free ATS Pick
The Packers have a lot of talent, but they are such a veteran team that a lot of the stars may play sparingly. The Redskins have more to prove, especially after last week’s slow start to the preseason.
Expect Washington to look better at home this time around and cruise to an easy victory.
NFL Odds: Redskins 24, Packers 13
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