NFL Preseason Picks & Predictions: Week 2 (Thursday)
The NFL preseason heads into the second full week of action on Thursday night. Unfortunately, we only get two preseason games on Thursday night, down from six matchups last week. Yet, there is still money to be made. Therefore, let's look at my four favorite NFL preseason picks for Thursday night's two-game slate.
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Thursday’s Best NFL Preseason Picks
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Houston Texans
Fernando Mendoza Under 99.5 Passing Yards (-115 at Underdog)
Last week, Fernando Mendoza had an impressive start to his NFL career, completing 10-of-16 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown in a 13-point loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Mendoza didn't start the game but had a team-high 16 pass attempts. Yet, he failed to hit the century mark against one of the worst defenses in the NFL.
Unfortunately, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans plans to play healthy starters against the Raiders, which is awful news for Mendoza. While he might see more playing time than last week, I expect the rookie to struggle against one of the top defenses in the NFL, especially if Brock Bowers doesn't play again this week.
Raiders Team Total Under 19.5 Points (-108 at Caesars Sportsbook)
While it is the preseason and NFL teams are playing things close to the vest, fans and bettors should be worried that Las Vegas scored only 14 points last week. Kirk Cousins led the Raiders on a 10-play drive that covered 68 yards and resulted in a touchdown on the first series of the game.
However, Las Vegas scored only seven points the rest of the game, including zero points in the second half, despite facing an awful Arizona Cardinals defense. Unfortunately for the Raiders, they aren't likely to score a touchdown on the opening series on Thursday night against a Texans defense that plans to play their healthy starters.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Omarion Hampton Over 13.5 Rushing Yards (-115 at Underdog)
The Chargers sat their starters in Week 1, including Omarion Hampton. However, Chargers head coach John Harbaugh told the media that the starters will play the opening series on Thursday night. Last week, Kimani Vidal got the start at running back, totaling five rush attempts for nine yards on the team's opening series.
Vidal touched the ball on five of Los Angeles' 11 plays on their first drive last week. No one should be shocked if Hampton sees a similar workload on Thursday night but manages to do more with it than Vidal. Meanwhile, the 49ers might sit Fred Warner for this game, as the veteran is coming back from a season-ending injury from last year.
First Team to Score: 49ers (-125 at Bet365)
I typically stay away from these kinds of bets, especially during the regular season. However, I'm breaking my rules for Thursday night and backing the 49ers to score the first points of the game. Last week, the 49ers didn't score until their third series of the game against the Tennessee Titans. However, they started the game with their backups facing the Titans’ starters.
Furthermore, Mac Jones didn't even play for San Francisco, as Kurtis Rourke started at quarterback last week. Meanwhile, head coach Kyle Shanahan will have several starters play potentially multiple series on Thursday night, with Brock Purdy likely being among them. By comparison, the Chargers will play their starters for only their first drive of the game.
Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.