NFL Sports Betting: Week 1 Preseason Picks (2019)
Although it’s the first week of the preseason, there’s plenty to get excited about. We’ll see the debut of a number of new head coaches, we’ll see new faces in new places, and we should get a peek at the first pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, Kyler Murray. Let’s take a closer look at Week 1 of the preseason and make some picks.
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New York Jets @ New York Giants
Thursday, August 8th, 2019 – 7:00 PM ET
Odds: Jets -1.5 at PointsBet
The battle of New York should be an intriguing preseason matchup with all eyes on how many snaps a pair of young quarterbacks play. Sam Darnold was one of the better performers at his position down the final stretch of his rookie season. While he is primed to take another step forward in his second year, we might not see much from him here. Still, the Jets will have plenty of competition behind him with Luke Falk, Trevor Siemian, and Davis Webb competing for roles. Gang Green also has a deep running back depth chart with Bilal Powell, Ty Montgomery, Elijah McGuire, and Trenton Cannon looking for touches behind Le’Veon Bell.
Meanwhile, we will likely get our first look at Daniel Jones in a Giants’ uniform as he starts the season as the No. 2 quarterback on the roster behind Eli Manning. The biggest issue for Jones is the lack of talent around him, which will be accentuated by the injuries his team is dealing with at wide receiver.
Adam Gase and Pat Shurmur have identical 5-7 records in preseason competition. Both are also 2-1 in Week 1 of the preseason. However, Gase is a new face in a new place with something to prove. A win in his debut as the Jets head coach would be a nice touch.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Baltimore Ravens
Thursday, August 8th, 2019 – 7:30 PM ET
Odds: Ravens -4 at PointsBet
The second season of the Lamar Jackson show begins in Baltimore. While he isn’t likely to see much action in Week 1 of the preseason, the Ravens have a pair of young quarterbacks fighting for a job with third-year pro Joe Callahan and rookie Trace McSorley competing for the backup role while Robert Griffin III is sidelined. Jacksonville has a new quarterback in Nick Foles, but it will be Tanner Lee, Alex McGough, and Gardner Minshew rotating under center versus Baltimore. In other words, both teams have lousy rotations under center.
The difference here is that Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh, cares about these games. He has an outstanding 33-12 career record in the preseason, including 11-1 in Week 1. Doug Marrone is just 8-9 in preseason games as a head coach.
Tennessee Titans @ Philadelphia Eagles
Thursday August 8th, 2019 – 7:30 PM ET
Odds: Eagles -3.5 at PointsBet
The Eagles traded Nick Foles to the Jaguars to make way for Carson Wentz as their franchise quarterback. Now, they will lean on Nate Sudfeld, Cody Kessler, and Clayton Thorson to see if they show signs that they can serve as capable backups. This is a good rotation as Sudfeld and Kessler have seen regular-season action.
The Eagles also have great depth at running back with Jordan Howard, Darren Sproles, Miles Sanders, Corey Clement, and Josh Adams set to take some pressure off of the quarterbacks in the preseason as they compete for touches.
Beyond that, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson is 7-5 in the preseason whereas Mike Vrabel is 0-4. The Titans scored a total of 40 points in four preseason games last season, which is a telling sign.
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Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.