Top NFL Week 3 Preseason Betting Picks: Saturday (8/28)
The NFL went with a three-week preseason and an 18-week regular season. Therefore, Week 3 is the final week of the preseason before we get some regular-season action. However, the NFL regular season doesn’t begin until mid-September, giving teams one bye week before the season after the preseason schedule. With this being the final week of the preseason, we might actually get to see some of the teams’ starters in action.
Check out our consensus odds for this week’s preseason games >>
Chicago Bears -2 (-110)
The Bears have already announced that their prized rookie quarterback will start against the Titans in the final preseason game before the regular season. For one, this means Andy Dalton is the true number one quarterback for the Bears. But on the bright side, Justin Fields will get to play in this game without Dalton getting a chance to shine.
This is Fields’ game. Dalton will not be playing. There’s a good chance Fields plays two quarters behind the starting offensive line, including Jason Peters and Germain Ifedi. Head coach Matt Nagy wants to see Fields get better but isn’t going to play the starting position players. This isn’t the week where any team wants to surrender injuries but giving Fields a chance to get better is still in the cards.
On the other hand, Mike Vrabel, head coach of the Titans, has rested many of his starters in the first two games of the preseason. Vrabel won’t be around for this one as he tested positive for COVID. At this point, nobody wants to be blamed by Vrabel for playing a certain player, and then that player gets injured. This isn’t confirmed, but we’ll likely be able to watch Fields work behind a starting offensive line against a second-team defense of the Titans.
If the Bears get out to an early lead, they’ll win this game and cover the spread.
Double Your Money if Tom Brady Throws for 1+ Yards Week 1 >>
New Orleans Saints -3.5 (-110)
There’s real quarterback controversy in New Orleans after Jameis Winston helped the Saints defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 23-21, going 9-for-10 for 123 yards and two touchdowns. His competitor, Taysom Hill, went 11-for-20 and took way more snaps than Winston in the game.
The media is talking now. Winston looked like a reliable quarterback, and some believe he could become the Comeback Player of the Year if he gets a chance to start. There are no reports on who is expected to start for the Saints, but one thing is for sure, neither quarterback has been confirmed the Week 1 regular-season starter just yet.
This game could become the game where the Saints finally decide on their quarterback. That means we’ll get to see the best Hill and Winston we’ve seen all preseason as they duel it out for the QB1 spot.
Plus, the Cardinals offense hasn’t scored more than 19 points in either of their first two games of the season. Without Kyler Murray, can you really expect an offensive explosion from the Cardinals? I’ll back the Saints, who have the most important positional battle in the NFL right now.
Buffalo Bills -8 (-110)
The Packers’ offense has scored just 21 points in their first two games of the preseason. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t taken a single rep in the preseason and isn’t expected to take any snaps in this one either. The Packers also didn’t give Jordan Love any snaps in the second game and relied solely on Kurt Benkert, who has a quarterback rating of 83.9 against the Jets.
On the other hand, the Bills have shown all preseason that they’re deep. Buffalo pounced on the Bears in the second game of the preseason, winning 41-15 behind Mitch Trubisky, who got the bulk of playing time and contributed 221 yards with a touchdown. The Bills have Trubisky, Davis Webb, and Jake Fromm as potential quarterbacks they can use. That’s a lot of solid depth at quarterback, while the Packers legitimately have no depth when Rodgers and Love aren’t considered to play.
I like the Bills to get the job done rather easily. The Bills are 2-0 in preseason action, while the Packers are 0-2. I’ll back the team with more depth and that has actually won a couple of games in the preseason.
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Jason Radowitz is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @Jason_Radowitz.