NFL Betting: Week 3 Preseason Picks (2019)
Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our Sports Betting Strategy and Advice page is for you. You can get started with our 101 section — including Common Sports Betting Terms — or head to more advanced strategy — like 10 Tips to Become a Sharper Sports Bettor — to learn more.
Following a 2-1 week with our preseason picks, we now shift our attention to Week 3. This is the important one as teams treat this game as a dress rehearsal for the regular season. That means we’re bound to see more starters playing in this week’s action and for longer than before.
Let’s take a look at the card and see if we can find three winners:
Deposit $50 at PointsBet and get a free $100 bonus! >>
New York Giants @ Cincinnati Bengals
Thursday, August 22nd – 7:00 PM EST
Odds: Bengals -3 at PointsBet
The Giants might not be a very good team to bet on this regular season. However, New York is coming off back-to-back exhibition wins with an excellent opportunity to improve to 3-0 in the preseason versus Cincinnati, and head coach Pat Shurmur is trying to establish a winning culture. With Daniel Jones putting pressure on Eli Manning for the starting quarterback job, the Giants look like a smart bet against the Bengals. Teams with good depth at quarterback and running back tend to do well in the preseason. Even the Giants’ third and fourth stringers have played well.
Zac Taylor’s debut season will have its share of highs and lows. With wide receiver A.J. Green already sidelined for the rest of the preseason and a number of veterans banged up, the Bengals might not care about this game nearly as much.
Carolina Panthers @ New England Patriots
Thursday, August 22nd – 7:30 PM EST
Odds: Patriots -3.5 at PointsBet
We could get our first preseason look at Tom Brady in this spot along with a number of other starters that sat out the first two preseason games. The Patriots’ quarterbacks have looked good, as the team has scored 53 points through two games, while they have combined to go 46-65 (70.8%) for 566 yards, four touchdowns, and just one pick. The running game has rolled, too, as the Pats are averaging 128 rushing yards and 1.5 touchdowns through two preseason games.
Meanwhile, Cam Newton is expected to make his preseason debut for Carolina after sitting out the first two exhibition games. There has been plenty of talk about Newton’s improved arm strength after offseason shoulder surgery. However, Carolina’s backup quarterbacks haven’t looked great. The team scored just 14 points against Buffalo last week and they’re averaging just 263.5 yards per game. The Pats are the play.
Baltimore Ravens @ Philadelphia Eagles
Thursday, August 22nd – 7:30 PM EST
Odds: Ravens -5 at PointsBet
It’s hard to believe that we’ve got a five-point favorite on the board – especially on the road. That’s a big number in preseason action. What might be even harder to believe is that we’re going to lay it.
Nobody should be surprised that Baltimore is 2-0 so far this preseason. After all, head coach John Harbaugh is 35-12 all-time in exhibition games. With a renewed focus on becoming a contender, the Ravens will keep their foot on the gas as they attempt to gain some momentum heading into the regular season. Lamar Jackson has looked pretty good so far while the Ravens have lots of depth at running back. Behind Mark Ingram, guys like Justice Hill have really shined in the preseason.
As for the Eagles, they earned a lopsided victory over a weak squad of backups from the Jacksonville Jaguars last week after taking a 27-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 1. Philadelphia is 2-4 in preseason games over the last two years and they mostly know who they are. They probably won’t push the envelope too much in this one.
Check out our PointsBet review and promo codes >>
Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.