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The final week of the NFL preseason is here, and while there have not been a ton of major storylines developing to this point, that’s subject to change.
You will see some teams start to play their starters more in Week 3 of the preseason, while others play the reserves. Either way, teams will analyze their rosters, making final decisions.
Here is a look at some of what may be some of the better pairings in the last week…
Pair on Thursday
The Pittsburgh Steelers look to move to 3-0 in the preseason, visiting the 1-0-1 Atlanta Falcons Thursday night. Pittsburgh is a 4½-point favorite in this game, while not stoppable on offense throughout the first two weeks.
The Indianapolis Colts are five-point road choices in Philadelphia against the Eagles, and this may be intense. These two teams have practiced together. It ended with a Tuesday fight.
Take both betting favorites Thursday night. There’s no reason to suggest Atlanta or Philly keep it close.
Trio on Friday
The San Francisco 49ers are 7½-point faves Friday night at home against the Los Angeles Chargers, according to NFL preseason odds. There’s an outside chance this could be a Super Bowl preview…or not. If you think it’s worth a shot, take the 70-1 (+7000) odds on a Niners/Bolts affair, as per Super Bowl pairings.
The New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans meet Friday night in Nashville. Though neither team is expected to win its division, both are solid.
Here’s how we see the Friday games…
Carolina Panthers -4½ vs. Detroit Lions
Tennessee Titans +115 (ML) vs. New England Patriots
Los Angeles Chargers +7½ at San Francisco 49ers
Loaded Saturday Slate
This Saturday evening, It’s the annual Battle of New York, held in New Jersey. The Jets and Giants meet at the Meadowlands Saturday, and it’s the Jets as 4½-point “road” favorites. Believe it or not, the Jets have been getting some good play out of second-string quarterback Zach Wilson in the preseason. However, the main attraction is Aaron Rodgers making his Gang Green debut in this game.
The Baltimore Ravens had a 24-game “exhibition” win streak snapped in the waning seconds against the Washington Commanders Monday night. Baltimore is now 1½-point road underdog against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa still has plenty of areas in need of improvement (Baker Mayfield is the new starting quarterback), but will deliver a second consecutive loss to the Ravens.
Soldier Field is the Saturday afternoon venue as the Bears host the Buffalo Bills. This might even qualify as a physical preseason game.
Of the 10 Saturday games, here are our selections…
Chicago Bears -1½ over Buffalo Bills
Minnesota Vikings -2 over Arizona Cardinals
Miami Dolphins +7 at Jacksonville Jaguars
A Finishing Snoozer
The New Orleans Saints host the Houston Texans Sunday night in the preseason’s final game. There aren’t many reasons to watch, with the Saints resting their starters and the Texans a team with any number of deficient areas.
A timid endorsement of the visitors +3½ in this one.
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
