NFL Preseason Week 3 opening lines and analysis: Bills and Broncos heavily favored

It’s now or never for NFL players trying to secure a roster spot for the 2021 season with this week’s NFL preseason games providing their last chance to win favor with their GMs.

The early lines have been posted for the preseason Week 3 games and remember, this warmup campaign is unlike the ones we were used to before the exhibition games were canceled entirely last year due to the pandemic. Under the typical 4-week preseason campaign the final game was largely contested by players who would be hitting the waiver wire the next morning, but this year, thanks to a week off before the serious action begins, this week is the one where we may see more starters in action than in any games so far.

NFL Preseason Week 3 lines

Last week’s games were spread across 5 days but this week everyone is playing from Friday to Sunday. We have 4 Friday games, a 7-game Saturday slate, and a 5-game Sunday card to finish off the preseason action. Let’s look at the early lines, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook:

Friday
Indianapolis -3 at Detroit
Philadelphia +4 at NY Jets
Minnesota +3.5 at Kansas City
Pittsburgh at Carolina OTB

Saturday
Green Bay +7.5 at Buffalo
Baltimore -3.5 at Washington
Arizona +3 at New Orleans
Tampa Bay -4 at Houston
LA Rams +8.5 at Denver
LA Chargers +4 at Seattle
Chicago at Tennessee OTB

Sunday
Jacksonville +1.5 at Dallas
Miami -2.5 at Cincinnati
New England -3 at New York Giants
Cleveland -6 at Atlanta
Las Vegas at San Francisco OTB

Make sure you check out our previews for each of these games later in the week

Make that 19 straight preseason wins for the Ravens after taking down Carolina 20-3.

And another DOUBLE winner for Pickswise nation!

🏈 Ravens ML ✅
🏈 Under 35.5 ✅ pic.twitter.com/0PEFBqr2qM

— Pickswise (@Pickswise) August 22, 2021

NFL Preseason Week 3 games to watch

Pittsburgh, winners of the Hall of Fame Game, are the only team who can go 4-0 this season after beating Dallas, Philadelphia, and Detroit, and they just need to beat 0-2 Carolina to complete a perfect preseason campaign. The Cowboys, however, are the only club that could go 0-4 and they need a win against Jacksonville to avoid that fate. Dallas is a -120 favorite to get the win, though.

The Bills and Broncos are the week’s biggest favorites, with Denver favored by 8.5 points over the Rams — who have shown little intention of risking any injuries to their top players — and Buffalo asked to give up 7.5 points to Green Bay after crushing the Bears 41-15 last week.

And don’t forget the relentless preseason machine that is the Baltimore Ravens. After beating the Panthers last week, they are 3.5-point favorites to make it 20 straight preseason wins when they face Washington.

Read the three things we learned from NFL Preseason Week 2!

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