Jeff Schwartz
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
If you’re thinking, “That guy Schwartz is crazy to find preseason bets for Week 1 and Week 2,” you might be right, because I’m back with even more bets for Week 3.
There are 16 games remaining on the NFL preseason schedule, meaning each team has one more chance to take the field before the regular season begins on Sept. 5 in Kansas City.
Week 3 is the hardest week because most starters won't be playing, so we'll handicap the games based on backups and motivation.
With that in mind, get motivated to win some money on the best three bets of the weekend.
ET all hours.
Thursday, August 22
Indianapolis Colts @ Cincinnati Bengals (8 p.m., Prime Video)
Indianapolis is a team that seems to care about the preseason, but they'll be playing a team that doesn't. The Colts allowed 30 points in their loss last weekend and 21 points in their win. Coach Shane Steichen announced that several starters will play against the Bengals.
While this announcement should always be taken with a grain of salt, this is another data point that proves the Colts are looking to win in the preseason.
Indianapolis' offense is under Steichen's direction, but in the preseason, they let other coaches run the offense against the Colts. After all, these coaches are always trying to push the ball and score points. They're playing the Bengals, who are the polar opposite of the Colts. Cincinnati doesn't care about the outcome of these games. The Bengals have barely a pulse on offense, losing 17-14 and 27-3.
Prediction: Colts (-6.5) to win by 6.5 or more points
Will the Cleveland Browns, Ravens or Bengals win the AFC North?
Saturday, August 24
Carolina Panthers @ Buffalo Bills (1 p.m.)
The Carolina Panthers have played two preseason games without their starters on the field, both with backup quarterback Andy Dalton, who has played and practiced despite a quad injury.
Not surprisingly, the Panthers' offense was lackluster through two games, with Carolina scoring just three points against the Patriots and 12 points against the Jets. That 12 was a fluke, as the Panthers weren't even attempting the two-minute drill and just happened to score on the run.
The Bills won't use any starters on Saturday, but that shouldn't matter much. Their team is deeper than the Panthers' and Sean McDermott is a preseason coverage machine, covering more than 60 percent of the preseason games he's coached.
Prediction: Bills (+4) lose by less than four points (or win outright).
Will the Buffalo Bills or New York Jets win the AFC East?
New York Giants at New York Jets (7:30 p.m., NFL Network)
There are two kinds of teams going into this preseason: those that care about the game, like the Chiefs and Bears, who fielded their starters while appearing to game plan for their opponents, and those that are focused on other things, like the Jets.
The Jets are without quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which isn't big news — he hasn't played in a NYJ uniform this preseason — but the Jets have only used backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor for one possession in each of their first two games.
In the two games they played with their reserves, they scored 20 and 15 points, respectively, against the New York Giants, who tried at least in the first half against the Texans last week but still failed to score. The Giants scored 3 and 10 points, respectively, in their two preseason games. Their roster is not deep enough that their offense can't move the ball when their reserves are on the field.
This battle for New York is going to get ugly. I'm betting on the under.
Prediction: 31.5 or fewer points combined for both teams
Jeff Schwartz is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He played eight seasons in the NFL with five different teams. He played three seasons as a right tackle at the University of Oregon, where he was named second team All-Pac-12 his senior year. Follow him on Twitter @Jeff Schwartz.
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