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Bettors buying into Browns, and Thursday's NFL preseason odds and analysis
There are 12 NFL preseason games on the board Thursday night, giving football fans their first go at the NFL odds this season. We dive into the must-know news and notes for handicapping some of tonight’s tune-up tilts:
Hard-Knocked Life
HBO’s NFL Hard Knocks gives fans an in-depth look inside the lens of an NFL training camp like no other but all of the cameras and extra bodies can certainly impact the regular preparation coaches and players require for success.
Teams featured on Hard Knocks are just 16-27 ATS in the preseason since 2001 (Tampa Bay went 1-3 ATS last August). The Cleveland Browns are this season’s featured team and have drawn some preseason attention to their exhibition opener against the New York Giants Thursday. The Browns opened as 3-point road underdogs but have been bet over the fence, to -1.
Slow out of the gate
Over the past three years, teams have combined for an average of 8.7 points in the first quarter of preseason Week 1 games, with players working off rust, coaches running new playbooks, and first and second teams only getting limited snaps.
Take this trend into consideration when sizing up the 34-point total for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ game against the Miami Dolphins. Neither team is overly threatening offensively and, according to the Tampa Bay Times, fans should see a healthy dose of Bucs RB Ronald Jones II running the football – keeping gains short and the clock moving. Pay attention Under bettors.
Indy Gets Lucky
The long-awaited return of Andrew Luck will take center stage in Seattle on Thursday night and according to multiple sources, the Stanford product’s arm looks better than ever.
According to new Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich, the Colts are expected to send their franchise quarterback out for the first quarter before giving way to capable second-stinger Jacoby Brissett, who will likely finish out the half and maybe get a sequence in the second half.
Reich also mentioned his offense would be “pretty basic” Thursday night and will focus on fundamentals which should keep Colts’ offensive turnovers to a minimum and put them in a good position to be leading by halftime. Indianapolis is a 2-point road underdog in Seattle with the total at 35 points at most betting sites.
Young guns
The Alex Smith era is over in Kansas City and Thursday night marks the beginning of a new chapter led by Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs are 2.5-point home favorites hosting the Houston Texans.
The young QB is excited for Thursday’s matchup with the Texans, saying he wants to be “efficient” and hopes to get “a couple of drives and touchdowns”. The first team offense is expected to play the entire first quarter, according to Chiefs Reporter, BJ Kissel.
As for Houston, second-year QB Deshaun Watson doesn’t have any specific timeline in terms of work Thursday, but Texans head coach Bill O’Brien did tell the media it was “more likely” that Watson would play Thursday night – his first game action since a season-ending knee injury in early November. Behind Watson on the depth chart are veterans Brandon Weeden and Joe Webb, as well as fourth-string QB Stephen Morris.
The Lambeau Flop
Things in Green Bay haven’t been great this week as quarterback Aaron Rodgers laid into his receivers after a sluggish day in camp. Heading into their preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans, the Packers’ offense will be unrecognizable.
According to the Milwaukee Journal, the Pack will very likely be without Rodgers, Aaron Jones, Jimmy Graham, Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams in Week 1 of the preseason. And if fans do see Ty Montgomery, he will be on a limited snap count thanks to his injury concerns.
Despite the Titans having some defensive challenges, Tennessee is expected to at least start Marcus Mariota, whose mobility should give the Packers’ new defense under Mike Pettine some early trouble. Pettine stated the focus of his young defense is to play clean and to avoid taking penalties, which should give the Titans offense some wiggle room when moving the ball. This game is set as a pick’em with the total at 34 points.
Be like Mike
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t too worried when it comes to his high-powered offense in the preseason. Despite having some of the top weapons in the NFL, Tomlin’s playbook has been vanilla at best during the exhibition slate with Pittsburgh averaging just over two touchdowns per game in the preseason since 2013.
The Steelers’ head coach has a 17-29-0 Over/Under record in the exhibition slate for his career, staying below the total in 63 percent of those preseason games.
Pittsburgh isn’t expected to play any of its star offensive players in Thursday’s Week 1 tune-up with the Philadelphia Eagles, nor are the Eagles planning on playing many of their first-team offense, with both Carson Wentz and Nick Foles sitting out.
The total for Thursday’s game opened at 35 points and has been bet down to 32.5.
There are 12 NFL preseason games on the board Thursday night, giving football fans their first go at the NFL odds this season. We dive into the must-know news and notes for handicapping some of tonight’s tune-up tilts:
Hard-Knocked Life
HBO’s NFL Hard Knocks gives fans an in-depth look inside the lens of an NFL training camp like no other but all of the cameras and extra bodies can certainly impact the regular preparation coaches and players require for success.
Teams featured on Hard Knocks are just 16-27 ATS in the preseason since 2001 (Tampa Bay went 1-3 ATS last August). The Cleveland Browns are this season’s featured team and have drawn some preseason attention to their exhibition opener against the New York Giants Thursday. The Browns opened as 3-point road underdogs but have been bet over the fence, to -1.
Slow out of the gate
Over the past three years, teams have combined for an average of 8.7 points in the first quarter of preseason Week 1 games, with players working off rust, coaches running new playbooks, and first and second teams only getting limited snaps.
Take this trend into consideration when sizing up the 34-point total for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ game against the Miami Dolphins. Neither team is overly threatening offensively and, according to the Tampa Bay Times, fans should see a healthy dose of Bucs RB Ronald Jones II running the football – keeping gains short and the clock moving. Pay attention Under bettors.
Indy Gets Lucky
The long-awaited return of Andrew Luck will take center stage in Seattle on Thursday night and according to multiple sources, the Stanford product’s arm looks better than ever.
According to new Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich, the Colts are expected to send their franchise quarterback out for the first quarter before giving way to capable second-stinger Jacoby Brissett, who will likely finish out the half and maybe get a sequence in the second half.
Reich also mentioned his offense would be “pretty basic” Thursday night and will focus on fundamentals which should keep Colts’ offensive turnovers to a minimum and put them in a good position to be leading by halftime. Indianapolis is a 2-point road underdog in Seattle with the total at 35 points at most betting sites.
Young guns
The Alex Smith era is over in Kansas City and Thursday night marks the beginning of a new chapter led by Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs are 2.5-point home favorites hosting the Houston Texans.
The young QB is excited for Thursday’s matchup with the Texans, saying he wants to be “efficient” and hopes to get “a couple of drives and touchdowns”. The first team offense is expected to play the entire first quarter, according to Chiefs Reporter, BJ Kissel.
As for Houston, second-year QB Deshaun Watson doesn’t have any specific timeline in terms of work Thursday, but Texans head coach Bill O’Brien did tell the media it was “more likely” that Watson would play Thursday night – his first game action since a season-ending knee injury in early November. Behind Watson on the depth chart are veterans Brandon Weeden and Joe Webb, as well as fourth-string QB Stephen Morris.
The Lambeau Flop
Things in Green Bay haven’t been great this week as quarterback Aaron Rodgers laid into his receivers after a sluggish day in camp. Heading into their preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans, the Packers’ offense will be unrecognizable.
According to the Milwaukee Journal, the Pack will very likely be without Rodgers, Aaron Jones, Jimmy Graham, Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams in Week 1 of the preseason. And if fans do see Ty Montgomery, he will be on a limited snap count thanks to his injury concerns.
Despite the Titans having some defensive challenges, Tennessee is expected to at least start Marcus Mariota, whose mobility should give the Packers’ new defense under Mike Pettine some early trouble. Pettine stated the focus of his young defense is to play clean and to avoid taking penalties, which should give the Titans offense some wiggle room when moving the ball. This game is set as a pick’em with the total at 34 points.
Be like Mike
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t too worried when it comes to his high-powered offense in the preseason. Despite having some of the top weapons in the NFL, Tomlin’s playbook has been vanilla at best during the exhibition slate with Pittsburgh averaging just over two touchdowns per game in the preseason since 2013.
The Steelers’ head coach has a 17-29-0 Over/Under record in the exhibition slate for his career, staying below the total in 63 percent of those preseason games.
Pittsburgh isn’t expected to play any of its star offensive players in Thursday’s Week 1 tune-up with the Philadelphia Eagles, nor are the Eagles planning on playing many of their first-team offense, with both Carson Wentz and Nick Foles sitting out.
The total for Thursday’s game opened at 35 points and has been bet down to 32.5.
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