{"id":18663,"date":"2021-08-27T21:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T21:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=18663"},"modified":"2021-08-27T21:10:02","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T21:10:02","slug":"saturday-night-preseason-nfl-seven-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nfl\/saturday-night-preseason-nfl-seven-games\/","title":{"rendered":"SATURDAY NIGHT PRESEASON NFL: SEVEN GAMES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With one last crack at a perfect day of NFL football on broadcast television, they blew it. We have a 1 p.m. EST game, the Green Bay Packers at the Buffalo Bills and don\u2019t have another live televised game until the Chicago Bears play at the Tennessee Titans at 7 p.m. EST. We do get a 10 p.m. EST game, the Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks, but that 4 p.m. window is just sitting there wasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had four other games and none could be moved there for a national audience? There were plenty of interesting choices, led by the Arizona Cardinals at the New Orleans Saints. You could have slipped the Los Angeles Rams at the Denver Broncos in there as we all got a chance to look at some fresh new starting QBs and their angry, can kicking understudies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you care that the Baltimore Ravens have won 19 consecutive preseason games dating back to 2016, tying the all-time record of Vince Lombardi\u2019s Packers from 1959-1962? That they could set the all time record by knocking off the Washington Football Team in a game that the schedulers have put at 6 p.m. EST for reasons no one can fathom? No? Well, neither do they, but it would have been nice to see them play at 4 p.m. anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s our Saturday night selection:<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GREEN BAY PACKERS AT BUFFALO BILLS (-9.5, O\/U: 37.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordan Love is slated to start for Green Bay, but probably won\u2019t play a lot coming off an injury. They might play it by ear, as Aaron Rodgers won\u2019t be allowed anywhere near the actual playing surface and Love needs the work. It\u2019s not like they\u2019re saving him for anything this year unless he\u2019s close to a high score on Clash of Clans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buffalo is dealing with its own COVID-19 nightmare as they have not one, but at least two Typhoid Marys stomping through the facility in Cole Beasley and Isaiah McKenzie. Both have been fined for not adhering to the COVID protocols and slithering around the offices maskless. Beasley is currently in COVID jail, something that will happen continuously as he\u2019s refused to get vaccinated. While Beasley is one of the NFL\u2019s best slot receivers and the Bills might want to take the chance, McKenzie is a nobody and should be cleaning out his locker right now before the local hazmat unit gets a crack at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bills are trotting Josh Allen out for at least a series or two before handing the keys to Mitchell Trubisky. While it might be a significant drop off in the regular season, it\u2019s not much in the preseason and Trubisky has been tearing it up, making the case that QB needy teams would be smart to take a look at him next year. Bills 33, Packers 17<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BALTIMORE<\/strong> RAVENS AT WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM (+3.5, O\/U: 32)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I wrote above, Baltimore is going for the all time preseason consecutive wins record, an honor that I can\u2019t believe anyone cares about. They\u2019ve managed this preseason without their starter, Lamar Jackson, who catches COVID every time he steps out of the house and back up Trace McSorley, who only plays like he\u2019s got a crippling debilitating disease. I can\u2019t find any indication Jackson is playing Saturday at all, which is good for him. They shouldn\u2019t risk getting their star player hurt. That\u2019s Greg Roman\u2019s job by calling four straight QB runs once the regular season starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington has a much deeper QB room and could actually let starter Ryan Fitzpatrick go a while in this one. Behind him, Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen have both started and played well in NFL games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could this be the end of Baltimore\u2019s preseason dominance? I\u2019m feeling it. WFT<\/strong> 27, Ravens 16<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHICAGO<\/strong> BEARS AT TENNESSEE TITANS (+3, O\/U: 35.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Titans, like the Bills, have been hit hard with COVID this week as they were last season. They\u2019ve really leaned into the \u201cTennessee\u201d part of being Tennessee Titans. Luckily for them, according to reports, the team is 97-98 percent vaccinated so it should cost the guys out, Mike Vrabel and Ryan Tannehill, no more than a couple of days.  Frankly, Tannehill shouldn\u2019t have played a snap anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago has no real issue other than the fact that Matt Nagy is sticking with Andy Dalton as his starter when the entire universe is demanding he give Justin Fields a go. Because of that, I suspect Fields will play plenty in this one, which will make it especially fun to watch for the TV audience and frustrating for Bears fans. But, hey, there\u2019s no reason to send Fields out to slaughter in Week One against Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams. Let Dalton take the 1,472 hits and allow Fields to live to play another day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, with Fields getting the time and Tennessee just looking to put its head down and get through it, I like Chicago. Bears 24, Titans 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ARIZONA<\/strong> CARDINALS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (-3, O\/U: 34)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most of the teams with \u201cQB competitions\u201d have announced the winners at this point, Sean Payton has remained a little more coy. While Jameis Winston, as evidenced by our own eyes and watching the games, seems to have significantly separated himself from the NFL\u2019s most boring gimmick Taysom Hill, Payton is making his quarterbacks sweat it out for at least another game. That\u2019s probably bad news for Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See, the Cardinals have rolled into this preseason with plenty of expectations and they have achieved next to none of them on the field. While they look better on paper and in the roster, that paper hasn\u2019t lined up and completed a pass. Instead, it\u2019s been Kyler Murray, who has not looked sharp. Last week Kliff Kingsbury played Murray in multiple series only to see him go 1 of 4 passing for two yards. I didn\u2019t even play in the game and he completed just one more pass than I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kingsbury might let Murray go a little longer here, but Payton is serious about his playcalling with Winston and Hill both. I think that\u2019s the difference, as well as the overall talent level of the teams. Saints 23, Cardinals 14<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TAMPA<\/strong> BAY<\/strong> BUCCANEERS AT HOUSTON TEXANS (+3.5, O\/U: 36.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tampa Bay hasn\u2019t taken the preseason seriously and they shouldn\u2019t. They\u2019re the Super Bowl favorite as they bring back all 22 starters from last year\u2019s championship squad. No reason to get any of them so much as bruised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houston, on the other hand, has been all kinds of serious in the exhibition season, going 2-0 to pick up about 50 percent more wins than they\u2019ll have in the regular season. Deshaun Watson is technically still on the team, though he won\u2019t play a snap here and they probably won\u2019t use presumptive starter Tyrod Taylor much either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bucs might be the best team in the league. The Texans are probably the worst. In the preseason, it just doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s all about who wants it more and Tampa doesn\u2019t care about this one at all. Texans 19, Buccaneers 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOS ANGELES RAMS AT DENVER BRONCOS (-8.5, O\/U: 33.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Saints have kept their starting QB a mystery, Vic Fangio and the Denver Broncos have settled in on Teddy Bridgewater over Drew Lock. That means we\u2019ll get plenty of Drew Lock, probably auditioning for the team that will sign him as a free agent to back up Matthew Stafford in a couple of seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of Stafford, he won\u2019t play as will none of the Rams\u2019 starters. You can also line out new running back acquisition Sony Michel. Los Angeles is still holding out John Wolford too, after he had his appendix removed recently. That means it\u2019s Bryce Perkins the whole way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while Perkins has been fun to watch, I don\u2019t see that making a difference in the win column. I do think it\u2019ll keep Denver from covering. Broncos 16, Rams 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (-5, O\/U: 35)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have good news. I finally believe Easton Stick is a real person and not an alias for a former mobster in the witness protection program. What does that do for the Chargers chances in this game? Not much, because starters aren\u2019t playing and last week Stick passed for just 85 yards in spite of being under center most of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve talked about contenders not taking the preseason seriously, but no one has laughed away these games like Seattle. In two exhibition games the Seahawks have scored a total of 10 points while giving up 50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in this one you have two teams hiding their starters and have no desire to win this game at all. We\u2019re lucky there\u2019s no overtime in preseason anymore. Chargers 10, Seahawks 6<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Straight up: 12-4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against the spread: 6-10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preseason<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Straight up: 19-14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against the spread: 12-22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFL season begins on Thursday, Sep. 9 and the Week 1 Schedule is already up and taking bets at BetOnline.AG<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow our BetOnline Twitter accoun<\/a>t for the latest sports news and betting odds, and stay tuned on the Instagram feed<\/a> for more good information too.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ADAM GREENE With one last crack at a perfect day of NFL football on broadcast television, they blew it….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":13231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18663","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\/18663","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=18663"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18667,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18663\/revisions\/18667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}