Week 3 of the NFL preseason is considered the dress rehearsal. It’s a time when regulars see their most and in some cases only action of the exhibition slate. That thought process has undergone serious consideration over the past several years and certain coaches have elected to rest their starters until the regular season. And we’ve seen some major line movement for this week’s games because of it.
The wiseguys are trying to dip into the well at online sportsbooks by hammering certain teams. We saw the spread jump the fence in two of Thursday’s six games while several others have seen movement between 2-3 points. That’s highly unusual behavior for the preseason, but it shows that bettors are paying attention and oddsmakers are adjusting with the regular season just a few weeks away.
It’s another full weekend of NFL action with Week 3 of the preseason getting started on Thursday, August 22 with six games. The battle of Florida between Jacksonville and Miami will hit the airwaves on FOX. The Buffalo at Detroit matchup on Friday will air on CBS with NFL Network showcasing a triple-header on Saturday. The Sunday Night Football tilt between Pittsburgh and Tennessee is the only one on the schedule. BookMaker.eu will have spreads and point totals for every game on the 2019 schedule.
NFL Preseason Week 3 Schedule and Odds
Thursday, August 22
New York Giants at Cincinnati Bengals ( -1.5, 42.5 ), 7 p.m. ET
Washington Redskins ( -3, 41.5 ) at Atlanta Falcons, 7:30 p.m. ET
Carolina Panthers at New England Patriots ( -3, 42 ), 7:30 p.m. ET
Baltimore Ravens ( -4.5, 36 ) at Philadelphia Eagles, 7:30 p.m. ET
Green Bay Packers ( -3, 40 ) vs. Oakland Raiders, 8 p.m. ET
Jacksonville Jaguars at Miami Dolphins ( -3, 36 ), 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
Friday, August 23
Cleveland Browns ( -3, 43 ) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Buffalo Bills ( -1, 42.5 ) at Detroit Lions, 8 p.m. ET (CBS)
Saturday, August 24
Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings ( -7, 42 ), 1 p.m. ET (NFLN)
Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys ( PK, 40.5 ), 7 p.m. ET (NFLN)
Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts ( -3.5, 40.5 ), 7 p.m. ET
New Orleans Saints ( -3, 42.5 ) at New York Jets, 7:30 p.m. ET
San Francisco 49ers at Kansas City Chiefs, 8 p.m. ET
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Rams, 9 p.m. ET
Seattle Seahawks ( -2.5, 40.5 ) at Los Angeles Chargers, 10 p.m. ET (NFLN)
Sunday, August 25
Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee Titans ( -3, 40 ), 8 p.m. ET (NBC)
Three trends have stood out in the preseason over the past few years. One, the Baltimore Ravens don’t like to lose. They won their second straight this year and 15th in a row overall with a 26-13 takedown of Green Bay. The Ravens hit the road for a matchup with Philadelphia on Thursday and opened as a 2.5-point underdog. With the Eagles down a pair of quarterbacks already this preseason and Carson Wentz not expected to play much, the Ravens were hit hard at top NFL sportsbooks moving all the way to a 4.5-point favorite.
John Harbaugh improved his career preseason record to 35-12 and he boasts an impressive 8-3 mark in Week 3 games. You’re losing money if you’re not throwing down on the Ravens in the preseason. “We like to win,” Harbaugh reiterated after knocking off the Packers.
The Falcons are on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to the preseason and the betting public is well aware of their woes. It’s been nearly three years since Atlanta won an exhibition game, dropping 11 straight since beating Jacksonville on Sep. 1, 2016. A 22-10 home loss to the Jets last week extended the streak that’s also seen the Falcons lose 13 in a row ATS.
A typical preseason line hit the board with Atlanta favored by 2.5-points for its Week 3 contest with Washington. Within hours the spread swung in favor of the Redskins and has climbed to Washington -3. It was another atypical line swing for an exhibition game.
Week 3 games are supposedly the easiest to handicap since we expect to see starters play significant time. Again, with a shift away from that it’s easy to see why there has been a shift in so many spreads. As it stands right now a majority of the games have a spread between 2-4 points, which is more typical. As the week progresses we are likely to see those numbers bounce all over the place.
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