The first week of NFL preseason action is in the books giving bettors a glimpse into what the teams have. Week 2 could offer up a different perspective, though, since this is the time teams would trot out starters for their most extended action. A change in the preseason schedule ahead of last season essentially made this set of games what coaches often refer to as the dress rehearsal.
With so many unknowns in the exhibition season it’s good to know there is one constant. The Baltimore Ravens just win football games extending their streak to 21 games going 19-2 ATS with a cover over the Titans last week. Baltimore hasn’t lost a preseason game since 2015 with John Harbaugh posting a .774 winning percentage. The Ravens are a 6-point road favorite against Arizona in one of three games on Sunday. We typically don’t see spreads that high during the preseason, but I guess the Ravens are an exception.
Typically we see point spreads in the 3.5 or under range, so it’s a bit strange that three other games on the Week 2 preseason slate have drifted to 5-points. And all are home teams with Seattle, Buffalo and the Giants all laying points. New York emerged with a last second win over New England in Brian Daboll’s debut. Teams favored by 3.5-points or more went 5-0 SU with the Giants the only ATS loser, failing to cover the 4.5-point line in their 2-point victory.
Week 2 of the NFL Preseason gets started on Thursday, August 18 with an ESPN game between Chicago and Seattle. Three contests are slated for Friday, August 19, with eight more on Saturday and another tripleheader on Sunday. The betting week closes with a Monday Night Football clash between Atlanta and the Jets on ESPN. BookMaker.eu will have spreads and point totals for every game on the NFL schedule.
NFL Preseason Week 2 Schedule and Odds
Thursday, August 18
Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks ( -5, 42.5 )
Friday, August 19
Carolina Panthers ( -2, 41 ) at New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers ( -3, 40 )
Houston Texans ( -3, 38 ) at Los Angeles Rams
Saturday, August 20
Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills ( -5, 41.5 )
Detroit Lions ( -1.5, 42.5 ) at Indianapolis Colts
Washington Commanders at Kansas City Chiefs ( -3, 42.5 )
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tennessee Titans ( -3, 38.5 )
Las Vegas Raiders ( -1.5, 40.5 ) at Miami Dolphins
San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings ( -3.5, 41 )
Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars ( -3.5, 43 )
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers (-3.5, 38 )
Sunday, August 21
Philadelphia Eagles ( -2, 37 ) at Cleveland Browns
Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants ( -5, 38.5 )
Baltimore Ravens ( -6, 41.5) at Arizona Cardinals
Monday, August 22
Atlanta Falcons ( -1, 39.5 ) at New York Jets
We saw some starting quarterbacks take reps last week with Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts looking good in their cameos. But after what happened to Jets’ starter Zach Wilson and the hit Hurts took in the same game, how many teams are going to risk running their QB1 out there? Some coaches will undoubtedly adopt the Sean McVay preseason playbook. Rams’ starters didn’t play an exhibition snap last year and they were on the sideline Saturday. Apparently Brandon Staley likes the plan since he did the same with his Chargers.
A few teams have a competition for the starting QB job, notably the Carolina Panthers. Both Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, who were two of the top three picks in the 2018 NFL Draft, need to determine who owns the job. They played sparingly last week in a win and cover, but I expect them to handle a bulk of the reps in their matchup with the Pats on Friday giving the Panthers an advantage despite laying 2-points.
The good news for the Jets is that they have an experienced backup in former Super Bowl winner Joe Flacco, who steps into the starting role in the absence of Wilson. And since Flacco didn’t take a snap last week we’ll see him lineup behind center in the Monday night tilt with Atlanta. He won’t play much and he’ll definitely be more cautious. Look for the J-E-T-S to rally behind their veteran to beat Atlanta.
We also saw teams buck a trend in the first week with 13 of the 16 games going OVER the closing total. The Hall of Fame game also cashed the OVER. Oddsmakers have adjusted with 10 games on the Week 2 slate showing a total of 40 or more points. There were no such games last week with the highest over/under 38.5 for the Vikings-Raiders game. Three games on the Week 2 schedule have a total lower than the highest number last week, and two of those games are currently at 38. Last year at this time the UNDER was 14-3
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