The bulk of Week 2’s preseason action will be played on Saturday in what feels like a nice warmup for Redzone Sundays in a few weeks’ time. The 1 pm ET window consists of a matchup between the Jags and Lions, two franchises in the midst of turnarounds after years of struggling to make the playoffs.
The Dolphins and Texans will then take the baton for the mid-afternoon game at 4 pm ET, followed by the Bills and Steelers kicking off a full menu of football under the lights from Pittsburgh at 6:30 pm.
The spreads on the board range from 7+ points in the Chiefs vs. Cardinals battle in the desert and the Cowboys-Seahawks late kickoff game to a near pick ‘em face-off in the sunset sparring between Buffalo and Pittsburgh.
Las Vegas, one of three teams to score 30+ points in the first week of games, is a 3.5-point favorite on the road at SoFi Stadium against the LA Rams. Rookie quarterbacks Aidan O’Connell and Stetson Bennett both impressed in their pro debuts last week, completing 15+ passes for more than 140 yards and a touchdown each. Both will look to solidify their roster spots with another above-average game under center on Saturday.
The Chicago Bears created a stir a week ago when Justin Fields connected on two first-quarter touchdown passes of more than 50 yards, including a 62-yarder to offseason acquisition DJ Moore. Being one of the few teams to play multiple first-teamers in Week 1 seemed to pay off from both a player-chemistry and results perspective.
We’ve got a group of best bets lined up for Saturday’s packed schedule and are excited to be one week closer to games with higher stakes in early September.
Bills @ Steelers OVER 42.5 (-105)
The Bills and Steelers were among the 11 teams to reach the 20-point mark in last week’s round of games while holding their opponent to no more than 19 points.
Both have experienced passers on the depth chart behind their clear starters at quarterback, with Buffalo getting 120+ yards each from Matt Barkley and Kyle Allen in their opening win.
The Steelers handed the reins to Mason Rudolph for most of the snaps, in addition to Mitchell Trubisky getting a series under center, meaning that four players who have started NFL games before could see action again tonight.
Given the experience we outlined above and the results from their first games, we’ll take these teams to go over the highest total on the board.
Vikings +2.5 over Titans (-105)
We knew we could rely on Nick Mullens to provide steady quarterback play for the Vikes, and the team was leading at halftime thanks to a 71-yard drive that ended in a field goal and an 80-yard drive that resulted in Minnesota’s only touchdown of the day.
It took 25 plays in total for both scoring drives to conclude, chewing up more than 12 minutes of game time and reducing Seattle's chance to get into a rhythm on offense when they had their turn.
Mullens also led a seven-play, 45-yard drive into the Seahawks’ territory before the halftime whistle. Seattle took over at their two-yard line after being pinned deep inside their own half, thanks to a precise, booming kick from Vikings’ punter Ryan Wright.
We will ride with Mullens against the combination of Malik Willis and Will Levis for the Titans.
