The Buffalo Bills turned to Sean McDermott in hopes of ending the NFL’s longest playoff drought, now the new coach will have to patch an offense together in hopes of securing enough victories to do that. The Bills traded away their top receiver and saw one of their free agents retire in the span of a few days, severely hindering their chances of moving the ball through the air. It’s a good thing Buffalo had the best rushing team last season because they will need it again. The offense will search for answers in the Week 3 preseason matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.
This matchup in Week 3 of the preseason will go down Saturday, August 26, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at MT Bank Stadium.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Buffalo Bills +3.5
Baltimore Ravens -3.5
Over/Under 39
Odds Analysis
Baltimore gets the standard field goal for home field advantage and an additional half-point because the Bills haven’t shown much this preseason. Both teams have played stellar defense so far and the total looks to be a bit high for this matchup. We could see movement before kickoff, but the under looks like a smart play at the current number.
Quarterback Rotation
Tyrod Taylor was given a vote of confidence from McDermott after his woeful performance in last week’s loss to the Eagles and will start Saturday’s game in hopes of a better outing. Directing the offense for six possessions, Taylor completed just 8 of 18 passes for 53 yards and was intercepted twice while taking two sacks. The Bills managed just a field goal in those six drives and Taylor had a quarterback rating of 12.0.
Rookie Nathan Peterman was elevated to the second team and followed Taylor against the Eagles. He threw for 167 yards on 10 of 20 passing and will take over again on Saturday. T.J. Yates will mop up if there are enough possessions to warrant it.
Don’t expect to see Joe Flacco on the field for the Ravens as he continues to recover from a back injury that has kept him out of the first two games. In his place the team has gone with veteran Ryan Mallett, who led the team to another win last week, but was shaky moving the team downfield and was intercepted twice. Mallett will likely start again but he needs to show more. He completed 13 of 22 passes with a touchdown but averaged just 5.1 yards per attempt.
Rookie Josh Woodrum has impressed this preseason completing 12 of 14 attempts for 195 yards in two games. In last week’s win over Miami he was 8 of 10 for 110 yards and also had a pair of touchdown runs. Thad Lewis saw his first action of the preseason last week connecting for 18 yards on his only pass attempt.
Coaching History
Winning games is nice and McDermott has yet to taste victory as a head coach after the Bills lost their first two preseason outings. Right now, however, there are more pressing needs. The offense lost Sammy Watkins and Anquan Boldin in the passing game and Taylor hasn’t shown much to be deserving of the No. 1 job. The coach will be pleased with progress from his offense even if it doesn’t mean a win.
Despite not having Flacco available this preseason the Ravens are undefeated after handling Washington and Miami. Under John Harbaugh, the Ravens have won six straight exhibition contests covering the spread each time. Harbaugh has put together three unbeaten preseasons in his tenure and is 11-3 SU and 12-2 ATS in his last 14 preseason games.
Free ATS Pick
The Bills have plenty of issues right now, especially on offense after two of their expected top receivers departed. Taylor has looked sketchy and the line hasn’t done much in terms of protection. It’s added up to a pair of losses and a total of 26 points.
Baltimore has always been known for its defense and the group has shined in the preseason. The first team allowed a total of 44 yards in three drives to Miami last week and looks in mid-season form. There are some issues on the offensive line that need to be resolved and Jeremy Zuttah is back in a Ravens uniform to help out.
Taylor is the Bills starter because Peterman isn’t ready and Yates is a career backup. Chalk last week’s disaster up to a bad day and expect the Bills to be ready to play on Saturday. The Ravens will counter with a shaky Mallett, leaving offense at a premium. This one has all the makings of a low-scoring affair for under bettors.
NFL Odds: Ravens 18, Bills 15
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