We’re nearly there, folks. Week 1 of the NFL season is just a few weeks away, but before we can get to the regular season, we have one more week of preseason games. Some teams are using this week as an opportunity for their starters to get some game-like reps before Week 1, and other teams are choosing to keep their prized quarterbacks and running backs shelved to avoid injury. Make sure to check out all of our NFL predictions for Week 3 of the preseason, but withour further ado, here are my best bets.
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Washington Commaners -4.5 (-110) over Cincinnati Bengals
The Commanders have come out hot in the preseason. Heading into their final game before the regular season starts, Washington is 2-0 with wins over the Browns and Ravens. Yes, you read that right. The Ravens actually lost a preseason game. Baltimore’s 24-game winning streak in the preseason was snapped by Sam Howell and the Commanders last week in a massive upset. To me, that shows Washington wants to set the tone early that they are a team to mess with, even with an inexperienced guy like Howell at quarterback. Speaking of Howell, he looked great in his limited time last week. He went 19/25 with 188 yards and 2 touchdowns before handing the reigns over to Jake Fromm and Jacoby Brissett. And between Fromm and Brissett, the two combined to go 17/27 with 138 yards.
The Bengals have looked a little different this season as Joe Burrow has yet to take a snap in a preseason game. Cincinnati’s franchise quarterback suffered a calf injury a few weeks ago that would keep him out of the preseason and possibly the first few weeks of the regular season. However, Zac Taylor continues to be optimistic about Burrow’s Week 1 chances. Anyways, the Bengals are 0-1-1 in the preseason thus far which has included a 36-19 beatdown from the Packers followed by a 13-13 tie with the Falcons. It was very surprising to not see Atlanta come away with the wins considering they had more passing yards, rushing yards, first downs and more, but it was their offensive line that had a rough game. Cincinnati has looked sluggish in the preseason so far, and with one week left, their sights already appear to be set on Week 1.
Baltimore Ravens +2 (-110) over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It finally happened – the Ravens lost a preseason game. Baltimore’s 24-game preseason win streak was snapped by Sam Howell and the Commanders last week as Joey Slye nailed the game-winning field goal with 10 seconds left. The 24-game win streak was historic, and something the Ravens were proud of, but all of a sudden the oddsmakers have Baltimore as underdogs in the preseason all because they lost 1 game? I’m not buying it. Baltimore has already announced that Lamar Jackson will not play in the final game of the regular season, but that still doesn’t change my opinion since Tyler Huntley, Josh Johnson and Anthony Brown have formed a solid trio. All 3 quarterbacks bring versatility to the field and that has been a key to Baltimore’s preseason success.
It’s a new era in Tampa Bay as Tom Brady has retired (officially this time). That left the Buccaneers in a scramble to find their next quarterback, and many thought it would be Kyle Trask. However, the Bucs brought in Baker Mayfield to compete for the job, and Mayfield ended up winning the starting role heading into the final preseason game. That means we could see Mayfield for a few snaps before Trask gets the remainder of the game. However, regardless of whether it’s Mayfield or Trask, I don’t like Tampa Bay’s chances. Their defense isn’t great, and their running back group is below average. I’m very surprised to see the Bucs as a favorite, especially against a preseason powerhouse team like the Ravens. I’ll take the points with Baltimore as we wrap up the preseason.
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Jacksonville Jaguars -7 (-105) over Miami Dolphins
It’s a big spread for a preseason game, but I’m not scared off by it. The Jaguars have been incredible through the first 2 weeks of the preseason as they beat the Cowboys 28-23 in the first week and then dominated the Lions 25-7 last week. Jacksonville’s offense has been the best of any team in the preseason, and that’s with Trevor Lawrence only attempting 6 passes. This week, the Jags announced that they’re going to stick to their core players to get as many game-like reps as they can before their Week 1 game against the Colts. That means we should see Lawrence play a bigger role this weekend and for their dominant run game to continue. Jacksonville is obviously taking a different approach to these preseason games, and so far, it’s worked incredibly well.
Miami’s preseason has been a tale of 2 games. In their first game, they were crushed 19-3 by the Falcons. However, they bounced back last week with a 28-3 win over the Texans. Tua Tagovailoa only appeared in last week’s game and was 5/7 with an interception. I also have to state the obvious that the Falcons and Texans are not as strong of teams as the Lions and Cowboys, even if it is just the preseason. Miami doesn’t seem too interested in playing a lot of their starters this week, so I’m backing Jacksonville for yet another big preseason win.
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