We pretty much got what we expected in Week 1 of the NFL preseason. Most of the big name players didn’t see the field and those that did got a series of work if that. We expected the Bears to get No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams some work and he was outstanding so I doubt the coaching staff is going to risk the franchise moving forward. And like he’s done for several years, Rams coach Sean McVay sat his regulars allowing Stetson Bennett to play the entire game. Bennett overcame four interceptions by tossing a late touchdown pass to help the Rams upset Dallas 13-12.
The question is can we expect anything different in Week 2? There were some injuries sustained in Week 1 that are expected to keep players out of action. Giants’ backup Drew Lock sustained an injury that’ll keep him sidelined leaving Daniel Jones and Tommy DeVito as the only healthy QBs currently on the roster. The Giants won their preseason opener, 17-3, over the Lions. That game was one of 12 that cashed the UNDER when betting on the NFL using crypto with offenses around the league struggling. In all 25 of the 32 teams in Week 1 scored 20 points or less and five teams failed to score a touchdown.
NFL Preseason Week 2 Betting Odds
I was blindfolded throwing a dart at last week’s NFL parlay picks and it showed. My two favorites lost outright and I was 1 for 2 on my underdog picks. I said last week I was going to ease my way into the NFL betting season and it was a good move. Now that there is some data and stats to go on, as well as visual evidence, more informed wagers are forthcoming. I like the idea of doing an underdog parlay and a favorite parlay and as the season progresses new wrinkles will be added. Early odds show some rather large spreads for preseason with four games having a line of at least 6.5 points. Denver is favored by 7-points in Sunday’s matchup with Green Bay. The Week 2 preseason slate starts with Philadelphia at New England on Thursday with 13 games scheduled for Saturday. The betting week concludes with a pair of games on Sunday.
Parlay Card Favorites
Baltimore -1 vs. Atlanta
New Orleans -2.5 at San Francisco
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For the longest time the only sure thing during the preseason was the Ravens winning. Well that’s no longer true after they were upset by Philadelphia in Week 1. I like the line of Baltimore -1 in this matchup with the Falcons, who will likely take their lumps this season as they rebuild. Michael Penix Jr. will get every chance to show off but week cede the starting job to Kirk Cousins once the regular season starts. Penix was solid in his debut, but I also expect the Ravens to be fired up with their starters expected to see some action, including Lamar Jackson.
The Saints and Niners were scheduled to have joint practice sessions ahead of Sunday’s tilt at Levi’s Stadium. However it turns out SF cancelled those because they didn’t have enough healthy bodies to make it worthwhile. That’s astounding since rosters are inflated in training camp, but that leaves the Niners on the short end of the score against their NFC counterpart. And I don’t think travel is going to be an issue since the Saints hold camp in SoCal.
Parlay Card Underdogs
Philadelphia +2.5 at New England
Green Bay +7 at Denver
Detroit +6.5 at Kansas City
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There were several dogs that I liked on the early line so I’m jumping on three of them. After a disastrous finish to 2023 the Eagles could be playing for Nick Sirianni’s job. They played with desperation in a win over Baltimore last week and I expect that mindset to continue into the regular year. And let’s face it, the Pats are going through an upheaval post-Bill Belichick.
I’m taking advantage of the lofty spread in the other two games. The Lions were silent last week with regulars on the bench. I think we see Jared Goff and the offense on the field and scoring some points against KC. Patrick Mahomes made a cameo appearance in Week 1 and if he plays it’ll be much of the same allowing Detroit to gain some momentum ahead of what’s expected to be a big season. And finally, backing Green Bay as the biggest dog on the early board is a good choice.
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