Eagles @ Jets
Friday 7:30 Eagles +5.5 These two teams battled it out all week in practice games in Jersey, with the Eagles getting the best of the Jets. Yet, the Eagles are still 5.5 point underdogs. It’s possible we may see more of the backups, since the coaches may have seen enough from the starters in the practices, but I would think Russell Wilson and Jalen Hurts should at least get a quarter each, if not more. The Eagles also have Joe Flacco and Nick Mullens at backup, while the Jets have Mike White and James Morgan. As bad as Flacco and Mullens have looked this preseason, I will take them and the points over White and Morgan. Lastly, and I have to throw this in there, make sure you are drafting DeVonta Smith.Steelers @ Panthers
Friday 7:30 Steelers +3.5 Big Ben was looking a little like Young Ben last week, scrambling around and moving well. If it’s him against Sam Darnold for a quarter or two, I am taking Roethlisberger all day. Mason Rudolph, Josh Dobbs, and Dwayne Haskins against P.J. Walker and Will Grier is probably a wash and may even be an advantage for Pittsburgh. Give me the points.Vikings @ Chiefs
Friday 8:00 Chiefs -4.5 The Vikings have looked out of sorts this preseason, and I expect the Chiefs 1st team offense to come out firing. Vikings rookie backup quarterback Kellen Mond has not looked good and I have more confidence in the Kansas City backups Chad Henne and Shane Buechele.Packers @ Bills
Saturday 1:00 Bills -9.5 This is a high spread, especially for a preseason game, but with Aaron Rodgers most likely not making an appearance, I think the spread is justified. Jordan Love returns from his minor shoulder injury and should get the bulk of the snaps for the Packers. For the Bills, Josh Allen will get his first chance of the preseason and could potentially play the entire 1st half. Newly acquired Mitch Trubisky who has looked solid so far will probably play a quarter or two as well. Much better quarterback play for the Bills, they could win this game by two touchdowns with ease.
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Saturday 6:00 Football Team +3.5 The Ravens still haven’t announced if they will play Lamar Jackson in this game and if not it will be Tyler Huntley for basically every snap with Trace McSorley out for the entire preseason. On the other side, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tyler “Heineken, Hennessy Hen Rock” Heinicke are still battling for the starting job, although it’s fully expected that Fitzpatrick will get the nod. Kyle Allen is the Football Team’s 3rd string quarterback and a viable one at that. This line doesn’t make sense to me, give me the points.Bears @ Titans
Bears -3, Over 35.5 Saturday 7:00 Ryan Tannehill hit the Covid IR this week, so it will be Matt Barkley and Logan Woodside again for the Titans. Meanwhile, Justin Fields and Andy Dalton will continue to battle for the starting job with Fields getting the start this week. Dalton did absolutely nothing last week and got the Bears off to a rough start, I expect the opposite to happen with Fields starting the game. Either way, Nick Foles will come in to save the day for Chicago. I think there are enough capable quarterbacks in this game to push the total over.Cardinals @ Saints
Saturday 8:00 Saints -3.5, Over 34 Saints Head Coach Sean Payton officially named Jameis Winston the starter in New Orleans. In 70 career starts, Jameis has 120 total turnovers. Despite that, he still should be a better starter than Taysom Hill, who doesn’t exactly protect the ball so well himself. Hill provides the rushing yards and dual-threat capability, but he might just be best in the role he has played the past few seasons. Winston was slinging the ball all over the field last week in typical Winston-fashion, which should make this offense an exciting one for fantasy purposes. Kyler Murray struggled in his last preseason game and should get even more work this week to try and redeem himself. Colt McCoy and Chris Streveler will back him up once again. Trevor Simien and Ian Book will back up Winston and Hill. Give me Sean Payton and the Saints over Kliff Kingsbury and the Cards. Expect some big plays in this game to push the total over.
Dolphins @ Bengals
Sunday 1:00 Under 36 Joe Burrow will make his first appearance since tearing his ACL last year, but will only play in a limited number of snaps. For the Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa will not play, so it’s essentially Jacoby Brissett against Brandon Allen for the majority of this game. I don’t want to go to Australia anytime soon, but give me the land down under. Joe Burrow could pass for an Australian. Put another shrimp on the barbie. Ever watch Australian Football, it’s pretty crazy. Ok, enough of Australia references.Raiders @ 49ers
Sunday 4:00 Over 35.5, Raiders +3.5 Nathan Peterman played the entire preseason game last week, so we should see both Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota for the Raiders. San Francisco will continue to roll out Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance as Kyle Shanahan continues to assess who his starter will be. It seems like it’s going to be Jimmy Garoppolo, unless Lance really starts to separate himself. I’ll take the points and Jon Gruden and with some good quarterback play in this game, we should get the relatively low over.Patriots @ Giants
Sunday 6:00 Patriots -3 Bill Belichick and the Patriots have not been playing around this preseason, whipping both of their opponents so far, including beating the Eagles 35-0 last week. Cam Newton and Mac Jones have both looked impressive as has their run game and defense. The Patriots just simply look well prepared. The Giants on the other hand have looked terrible on offense, although they have been mostly led by Mike Glennon. Daniel Jones will play at least a half of this one, but I will take the Newton, Jones, and Belichick tandem over what the New York Football Giants are throwing at them. Thanks for reading and stay tuned to NFL Picks throughout the season. For more, you can follow me on Twitter @FantasySavvy.2021 Listener League – Hosted by @Fantrax – Free to enter! Winner gets a signed Stefon Diggs mini helmet! If you want a chance to get a spot in this league, just follow us, RT this tweet, and leave us a review on iTunes!#FantasyFootball https://t.co/Qhl31aA7y7
— TheFFfaceoff 🏈 (@FFfaceoff) August 18, 2021
