The betting action should get dialed-up a bit heading into the second week of NFL preseason games after getting our first glimpse of all 32 teams last week. It is hard to draw too many hard and fast conclusions from Week 1 of the preseason, but the betting results from BetOnline heavily leaned towards the favorites (11-5) with the total line evenly split 8-8.
The NFL betting odds for this week have been released and one of my top plays on the schedule is the OVER 44.5 in Saturday night’s Baltimore at Philadelphia game. The Ravens opened the preseason with a 30-27 victory over New Orleans at home in a game that ended as a PUSH. The total easily went OVER the 36.5-point closing line. The Eagles steamrolled Indianapolis 36-10 last Sunday as five-point home favorites to take that total OVER the 40.5-point closing line. Both teams did a good job moving the ball up and down the field no matter who was under center at quarterback.
My second “pick of the week” is the New Orleans Saints as one-point home favorite over New England. The Saints are coming off a disappointing 7-9 record in 2014, so getting a win at home this Saturday would be a step in the right direction following last week’s road loss. The Patriots came out completely flat in a 22-11 loss to Green Bay last Thursday as 2.5-point favorites at home. The defending Super Bowl Champs have nothing to prove in the preseason, but the bigger issue with this team is the distraction the whole Tom Brady suspension situation has created. No one in that organization will admit it, but right now New England is not focused on its preseason games.
The third and final top pick for Week 2 of the NFL preseason is the Jacksonville Jaguars over the New York Giants as three-point road underdogs for Saturday night’s clash at MetLife Stadium. The Jaguars took their first step towards turning around a string of four-straight losing seasons with a 23-21 victory against Pittsburgh last Friday as 1.5-point home favorite. When your team has a long history of losing, getting a few wins under your belt in the preseason becomes important even if they do not count in the standings. Blake Bortles continues to develop as one of the up and coming quarterbacks in the NFL so his motivation to showcase his skills against the Giants will also be running high.
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