If you thought the first weekend of preseason action was tough to handicap, welcome to Week 4. With every starter and regular expected to take the day off, the spreads and totals for every game are as vanilla as can be. The NFL concludes its preseason slate of games with every team in action on Thursday, August 29, with the home team favored in all but three matchups.
The surprising retirement of Andrew Luck has the Colts’ odds bouncing all over the place and not for the better if you’re an Indianapolis fan. Oddsmakers believe the fallout will carry over into the Colts final preseason tilt with Cincinnati. The Bengals are currently a 4-point favorite at top NFL sportsbooks.
All but one game offers a line between 2-4 points and it’s not a surprise Baltimore is a 6-point favorite over the Redskins. The Ravens are one of three road teams laying points and they’ve been the most successful team during the exhibition season over the past few years. Baltimore took down Philadelphia last week for its 16th straight preseason victory, the longest streak in at least a quarter century according to researchers.
All 16 games in Week 4 of the preseason will take place on Thursday so no team has a competitive advantage. NFL Network will show a doubleheader featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Chargers at San Francisco 49ers. BookMaker.eu will have spreads and point totals for every game on the 2019 schedule.
NFL Preseason Week 4 Schedule and Odds
Thursday, August 29
Minnesota Vikings ( -3, 35 ) at Buffalo Bills, 7 p.m. ET
Indianapolis Colts at Cincinnati Bengals ( -4, 34 ), 7 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Jets ( -3, 32.5 ), 7 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Steelers ( -3, 33 ) at Carolina Panthers, 7 p.m. ET (NFLN)
Atlanta Falcons at Jacksonville Jaguars ( -4, 33 ), 7 p.m. ET
Detroit Lions at Cleveland Browns ( -4, 33.5 ), 7:30 p.m. ET
New York Giants at New England Patriots ( -2.5, 34 ), 7:30 p.m. ET
Baltimore Ravens ( -6, 34 ) at Washington Redskins, 7:30 p.m. ET
Tennessee Titans at Chicago Bears ( -3, 33.5 ), 8 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys ( -3, 34 ), 8 p.m. ET
Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers ( -2.5, 34.5 ), 8 p.m. ET
Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints ( -3.5, 37 ), 8 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Rams at Houston Texans ( -2.5, 33 ), 8 p.m. ET
Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos ( -2, 33 ), 9 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Chargers at San Francisco 49ers ( -4, 34 ), 10 p.m. ET (NFLN)
Oakland Raiders at Seattle Seahawks ( -2.5, 33.5 ), 10 p.m. ET
With rosters still hovering around 90 players and starters for every team expected to not participate on Thursday, we’ll see a lot of guys competing who won’t be on their team once the regular season begins. Also, don’t expect much game planning or teams to spend too much time on preparation, which has all led to some low totals on the board.
Only one game currently has a total over 35 with the majority of contests right around the 33-point mark. Week 1 of the preseason offers the best comparison and we saw similar, though slightly higher, totals in the openers. The over was 9-6-1 on the closing totals. The Dolphins at Saints matchup opened with a total of 38.5 and that number has dropped to its current 37. It’s still the highest on the board.
Keep in mind that while the offenses for every team will be sitting out starters, so will the defenses, which opens up the opportunity for cashing the over. Four teams – Buffalo, NY Giants, Green Bay and Chicago – have cashed the over in all three preseason games. The Bills are a 3-point home dog with the total at 35 for their game with Minnesota. The Vikings have yet to lose this preseason and they are 20-4 in exhibition games under Mike Zimmer.
A few trends have stood out in the preseason over the past few years. First, the Ravens don’t lose. It’s been four years since they lost an exhibition game having won 16 straight since. I said it before and I’ll say it again, you’re losing money if you’re not wagering on the Ravens in the preseason. For the second straight week they were hit hard at online sportsbooks. The Ravens opened as a 2.5-point favorite and that number has been wagered to -6.
While the Ravens can’t lose, Atlanta can’t win. The Falcons dropped their 12th consecutive preseason game last week and they’ve lost 14 straight against the spread. The games haven’t produced many points either. The under is 11-3 in Atlanta’s past 14 exhibition contests. The Falcons visit Jacksonville Thursday as 4-point dogs with a current total of 33.
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