The return of football is a glorious time for those who enjoy wagering on sports. The most popular game on the planet is back this week with the 2022 preseason getting started with a full slate of games. Now, here’s a tip when betting on preseason games: Take everything you know about wagering on the NFL regular season and throw it out the window. That’s because the rules are completely different, the rosters are full of unknowns and coaches are looking to evaluate personnel. In other words, there isn’t much of an emphasis on winning. And that’s why there are some vanilla lines, especially when it comes to the first week.
A change in the schedule ahead of last year’s preseason reduced the number of exhibition games from four to three. And once again teams will have three contests to get their roster depth figured out, except of course for the Jags and Raiders, who opened the slate in the Hall of Fame Game last week. There is money to be won on preseason games though bettors need to be diligent and pay close attention to what coaches are saying about their clubs.
With teams looking to fill out the bottom of their depth chart starters rarely play. And the Super Bowl champion Rams may have set a precedent last year. None of the team’s regulars participated in the exhibition games and they went on to win the whole thing, so look out.
Typical for the preseason most of the Week 1 games have an opening line between 1.5-4 points with totals for every game in the low to mid 30s. In addition, there are three road teams favored and another two games listed as a pick ‘em. Baltimore and Las Vegas are the biggest favorites on the board with each laying 3.5-points for their Week 1 home contests.
Week 1 of the NFL preseason gets started on Thursday, August 11 with a pair of games. Five contests are slated for Friday, August 12 with eight set for Saturday and a lone contest on Sunday. BookMaker.eu will have spreads and point totals for every game on the NFL schedule.
NFL Preseason Week 1 Schedule and Odds
Thursday, August 11
New York Giants ( -2, 34 ) at New England Patriots
Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens ( -3.5, 31.5 )
Friday, August 12
Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions ( PK, 33.5 )
Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars ( -1.5, 33 )
Arizona Cardinals at Cincinnati Bengals ( -1.5, 33.5 )
New York Jets at Philadelphia Eagles ( PK, 35.5 )
Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers ( -1.5, 32.5 )
Saturday, August 13
Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears ( -3, 34.5 )
Carolina Panthers at Washington Commanders ( -3, 37 )
Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills ( -1.5, 34 )
Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers ( -3, 35 )
Miami Dolphins ( -1.5, 31 ) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints ( -1.5, 33 ) at Houston Texans
Dallas Cowboys at Denver Broncos ( -2, 31 )
Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Chargers ( -3, 30 )
Sunday, August 14
Minnesota Vikings at Las Vegas Raiders ( -3.5, 34 )
It’s time to sharpen those preseason handicapping skills since it’s been seven months since we last had a full week of NFL games. Figuring out the motivations of a head coach are a key in preseason wagering. And with a whopping 10 new coaches this season there is plenty to assess. Now, there’s a reason why those guys are in that position and it’s rarely because the club was good. Instead, most are looking for a culture change and that starts with a winning attitude that can be had during the preseason.
Several of the new coaches have past NFL experience so it’s not their first rodeo. And one – Tampa’s Todd Bowles – inherits a nice situation with seven time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady. However, for guys like Denver’s Nathaniel Hackett, Miami’s Mike McDaniel and Chicago’s Matt Eberflus expectations are to turn those franchises around. They each have a game against established teams with veteran coaches so it would be a good bet to take the newbies in their openers with a little more on the line.
With a warmup already in their pocket do the Jaguars and Raiders have an advantage? Oddsmakers think so with both clubs listed as favorites this week. With that first game out of the way there is a chance Doug Pederson gets last year’s No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence a few reps and the Raiders had a big HOF Game behind stellar play from backups.
Oddsmakers are trying to figure teams out during the preseason as well, so the house doesn’t have an advantage meaning there is money to be had for those willing to invest the time. Odds for most games are going to be around a field goal, give or take a few points. It’s not going to deviate much from that and you aren’t going to see a lot of line movement. If after doing your research you still have doubts, the best strategy is to take the points.
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