{"id":18639,"date":"2021-08-26T22:42:39","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T22:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=18639"},"modified":"2021-08-26T22:45:31","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T22:45:31","slug":"friday-night-preseason-nfl-four-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nfl\/friday-night-preseason-nfl-four-games\/","title":{"rendered":"FRIDAY NIGHT PRESEASON NFL: FOUR GAMES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheFirstMan\">BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a disastrous first official week of preseason I followed it up with a dumpster fire in Week Two. Not completely, mind you. I went 12-4 straight up, so moneyline bets would have been fine. It was the spread that got me as I once again posted another 6-10 week, narrowly missing so many games by half a point I\u2019d like to forget decimals exist altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, you can\u2019t do that. This is sportsbetting and it\u2019s not for the weak of heart. Especially in the preseason where games are unpredictable, rosters constantly moving and where coaches sometimes just toss guys out there to see if they stick. A good 40 percent of them don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Drew Butler &amp; Aaron Murray take a closer look at the odds &amp; predictions for NEBRASKA VS ILLINOIS\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S4qBezvX36k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Our final preseason week is separated into three days of multiple games, beginning on Friday with four contests featuring three 2020 playoff teams as well as a rookie quarterback everyone gets more excited about by the day. Our only nationally televised game is probably the least interesting, the Minnesota Vikings (already imploding thanks to Kirk Cousins deciding he\u2019d prefer a Tupperware covering over a proven safe and effective vaccine that\u2019s already protecting about 200 million of his fellow Americans) vs the Kansas City Chiefs, who are probably just thinking about simming the game so they can begin their Super Bowl quest come September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But they\u2019re playing and we\u2019re watching. So we might as well make some picks and get that bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.betonline.ag\/sportsbook\/football\/nfl\">Here\u2019s our Friday night selection:<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>INDIANAPOLIS<\/strong><strong> COLTS AT DETROIT LIONS (+2, O\/U: 33.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Colts are working on a perfect 3-0 finish to the NFL preseason and the 0-2 Detroit Lions are here to help. Detroit, for all the praise their offseason got them, has looked pretty awful in the preseason for what it\u2019s worth. No one expects a lot from them in the regular season either, so I guess there\u2019s that. Indianapolis, on the other hand, is a 2020 playoff team that plenty of people expect to return if they can get Carson Wentz on the field. Considering how well second year QB Jacob Eason has played, they might be able to take it slow if Wentz isn\u2019t 100 percent for Week One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Lions haven\u2019t been able to do much of anything and I don\u2019t see that changing here. They fell 26-20 to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week and starter Jared Goff never took a snap. Instead it was David Blough and Tim Boyle who barely completed over 50 percent of their passes combined for no touchdowns. The Colts knocked off the Vikings 12-10 with Eason solidifying himself as Wentz\u2019s No. 2 and rookie Sam Ehlinger probably dusting off a seat on the practice squad cnce Wentz is cleared. He finished 8 of 13 for 70 yards and two picks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You hate to go winless in the preseason, meaningless games or not, but frankly it might be a while before Detroit wins anything at all with their regular season schedule. <strong>Colts 17, Lions 10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PHILADELPHIA<\/strong><strong> EAGLES AT NEW YORK JETS (-4, O\/U: 33.4)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As this is the game most interesting to a national audience, it will only be available in and around New York until the NFL Network replays it later, probably at 3 a.m.. As such, the rest of us will only get the in game highlights to see how much Zach Wilson plays and what spectacular thing he does. The kid\u2019s been pretty good so far and New York is 2-0 because of it. The Eagles have been very Detroit-ish to say the least, going 0-2 in the preseason and looking worse by the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Jets took down the Jordan Love-less Green Bay Packers last week 23-14 with Wilson filling up the highlight reel going 9 of 11 for 128 yards and two touchdowns in one quarter of work. Rookie running back Michael Carter rushed 10 times for 52 yards and if New York could stop losing players to season ending injuries on defense, they could be exciting this year while still ending with a losing record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Philadelphia saw Jalen Hurts pulled out of the line up due to non-Covid illness, but they still had Joe Flacco and Nick Mullens, so there\u2019s no excuse for the shameful goose egg they posted against the New England Patriots in a 35-0 defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not sure how much work Wilson we\u2019ll get here, but even his back up Mike White played OK last week. Philly can\u2019t say the same, so I\u2019m going with the books here. <strong>Jets 19, Eagles 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PITTSBURGH<\/strong><strong> STEELERS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (-3.5, O\/U: 35.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pittsburgh is cruising through the preseason and even with the extra Hall of Fame Game, is 3-0 and firing on all cylinders with a QB room that should be the envy of half the league. Carolina has no such problem with P.J. Walker and Will Grier not exactly lighting up the scoreboard. Starter Sam Darnold has attempted all of two passes in the preseason so I have to believe the plan is to play him more this week. Considering he\u2019ll be facing a Steelers defense, I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s particularly wise. Like every other scrub we\u2019ve seen so far on this Friday slate of games, the Panthers are winless in the preseason at 0-2.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carolina fell 20-3 to the Baltimore Ravens last week in spite of the fact that the Ravens were playing their No. 3 QB the whole time. Grier led them in passing with a decent performance, finishing 11 of 14 for 144 yards. Walker was 1 of 8 and heading toward the waiver wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned above, the Steelers delivered a swift kick to the Lions. Ben Roethlisberger saw what should probably be his only action of the preseason, going 8 of 10 for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins went the rest of the way, which either means Josh Dobbs is getting cut or Mike Tomlin wants to evaluate Rudolph and Haskins against each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pittsburgh\u2019s quarterback depth is just too good for the preseason and, arguably, at least one of their reserves is better than Carolina\u2019s presumptive starter. It\u2019s going to be a long year for the Panthers, but at least they\u2019ve got good barbecue. <strong>Steelers 26, Panthers 10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MINNESOTA<\/strong><strong> VIKINGS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (-4, O\/U: 38.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The epic battle between Kirk Cousins and science continued this week with Mike Zimmer bringing in another expert, epidemiologist Dr Michael Osterholm in an attempt to convince his team\u2019s plethora of plague rats that it\u2019s in their best interest to take a life saving and proven safe vaccine over contracting a virus that has killed over 600,000 Americans and continues to fill up ICUs to the breaking point as a type this. Cousins, because he is an idiot, <a href=\"https:\/\/bringmethenews.com\/minnesota-sports\/kirk-cousins-on-osterholm-covid-briefing-it-was-what-it-was\">wasn\u2019t convinced<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was a great meeting,\u201d Cousins said, burping his body-covering Tupperware container in the process. \u201cIt was informative. And it was what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zimmer, whose job is in the hands of a group of men actively trying to spend Super Bowl Sunday hooked up to a ventilator, isn\u2019t hopeful they\u2019ll change their minds. This is the roster he\u2019s been stuck with and he obviously hates it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese guys, some of them just won\u2019t do it,\u201d Zimmer told reporters. \u201cI shouldn\u2019t say it, but some of the things they\u2019ve read are just, woof, out there. It\u2019s their belief, so whatever they\u2019ve heard or read or been told, or maybe they don\u2019t believe what Dr. (Allen) Sills and the NFL is telling them. I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I do. I know. Kirk Cousins\u2019 dad <a href=\"https:\/\/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com\/2021\/08\/05\/why-wont-kirk-cousins-get-vaccinated\/\">Don is an anti-vax pastor<\/a>, so mystery solved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019d ask Zimmer to cheer up. There are worse things than getting fired. He could be stuck coaching a team led by Kirk Coughin\u2019 Coffin Cousins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Minnesota put up a pitiful effort against the Colts as we\u2019ve already looked at. Cousins was 5 of 7, but used so many checkdowns Zimmer <a href=\"https:\/\/fansided.com\/2021\/08\/23\/mike-zimmer-torched-kirk-cousins-press-conference\/\">has called him out for it publicly<\/a>. Can we just go ahead and hand Green Bay the NFC North trophy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kansas City outlasted the Arizona Cardinals 17-10. Patrick Mahomes played enough to go 10 of 18 for 78 yards before the rest of the QB room mopped up. Anthony Gordon, who I continue to evangelize about, went 7 for 7 for 42 yards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ugliness will continue for Minnesota with no end in site. Kansas City looks ready for the season to start, though Travis Kelce really <a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/10010504-chiefs-travis-kelce-shaves-beard-responds-to-twitter-reaction-with-photoshop\">needs to re-grow his beard<\/a>. We\u2019ve all made mistakes we regret with the razor, but two weeks should get a nice dusting back on those cheeks. <strong>Chiefs 24, Vikings 12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Last week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Straight up: 12-4<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Against the spread: 6-10<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Preseason<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Straight up: 19-14<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Against the spread: 12-22<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NFL season begins on Thursday, Sep. 9 and the Week 1 Schedule is already up and <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.betonline.ag\/sportsbook\/football\/nfl\">taking bets at BetOnline.AG<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Follow our BetOnline <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/betonline_ag\">Twitter accoun<\/a>t for the latest sports news and betting odds, and stay tuned on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/betonline_ag\/\">Instagram feed<\/a> for more good information too.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BY ADAM GREENE After a disastrous first official week of preseason I followed it up with a dumpster fire in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":13926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18639"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18648,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18639\/revisions\/18648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}