NFL Preseason Picks & Predictions: Week 1 (Thursday)
Last week's Hall of Fame game was an outstanding matchup that went down to the wire. Haynes King scored the game-winning touchdown as time expired, giving the Carolina Panthers a 33-30 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. While last week's lone game was exciting, the official start of the preseason is on Thursday night. Let's take a look at my favorite Week 1 NFL preseason picks from each of the six games.
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Thursday’s Best NFL Preseason Picks
Detroit Lions at Cincinnati Bengals
This line opened with the Bengals being only 3.5-point favorites over the Detroit Lions. However, the line ballooned to Bengals -7.5 in some spots. Reportedly, the Lions won't play any key starters in Thursday's contest.
Teddy Bridgewater retired earlier this week, forcing the Lions to sign Joshua Dobbs as their new backup, but he is still learning the playbook. Therefore, Luke Altmyer will likely play the entire game for Detroit with Jared Goff sitting. Meanwhile, Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and the rest of the Bengals' starters will play.
Pick: Bengals -6.5 (-110 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers
Fans shouldn't expect to see Aaron Rodgers on Thursday night, as the veteran might not see the field until Week 1 of the regular season. Therefore, Drew Allar should see plenty of action, especially if Mason Rudolph gets the night off.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will likely put Will Howard on the field before Allar. Therefore, the former Penn State star could play most, if not the entire, second half of the game against players trying to make a roster. Don't be surprised if Allar has a solid performance in front of the hometown fans.
Pick: Drew Allar Over 74.5 Passing Yards (-225 at Kalshi)
Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots
While Daniel Jones is on track to play in Week 1 of the regular season despite tearing his Achilles last season, he won't play on Thursday night. Therefore, Anthony Richardson will get the start for the Indianapolis Colts. He is competing with Riley Leonard for the team's No. 2 quarterback job.
Furthermore, Richardson has requested a trade, so the Colts might want to showcase him to drive up interest. More importantly, he has averaged 37.3 rushing yards per contest in his career, totaling 24+ rushing yards in all but one game as a starter.
Pick: Anthony Richardson Over 15.5 Rushing Yards (-115 at Underdog)
Arizona Cardinals at Las Vegas Raiders
Last week, the Arizona Cardinals didn't play any starters in the Hall of Fame game against the Carolina Panthers. Yet, head coach Mike LaFleur told the media earlier this week that the starters would play on Thursday against the Las Vegas Raiders.
More importantly, LaFleur said the starters would play at most one or two drives. Last year, McBride averaged 7.4 receptions per game, the third-most in the NFL. It would require the Cardinals to have two meaningful drives for him to total six receptions against the Raiders.
Pick: Trey McBride Under 5.5 Receptions (-115 at Underdog)
Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans
According to head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Los Angeles Chargers will sit approximately 15 starters on Thursday night against the Houston Texans. While he didn't say whether Justin Herbert would be one of those players, fans and bettors shouldn't expect the superstar quarterback to suit up.
That means Trey Lance will start. The former North Dakota State star has averaged 22.6 rushing yards per game in his career. All it takes is for Lance to feel enough pressure to take off and run for the over on this prop bet to hit.
Pick: Trey Lance Over 9.5 Rushing Yards (-115 at Underdog)
Tennessee Titans at San Francisco 49ers
Reportedly, the San Francisco 49ers won't play any starters in Thursday night's matchup against the Titans, which makes sense, as several players are dealing with injuries. However, Tennessee plans to play its starters on Thursday night.
Furthermore, bettors shouldn't be surprised if the starters play the entire first quarter, or more. The Titans have a new offense to learn and need to build in-game chemistry between Cam Ward and his two new big-name wide receivers: Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson. Tennessee could win this game by a touchdown or more.
Pick: Titans -4.5 (-115 at ProphetX)
Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.