NFL Preseason Betting: Battles for Playing Time, Roster Spots at Stake in Week 4

There are eight teams with undefeated records going into NFL preseason Week 4, Buffalo, New England, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Oakland, New York Giants, Minnesota, and San Francisco. At least two of them will have a loss after Thursday since they are playing one another.

The Ravens and 49ers have the best odds. Baltimore is a six-point favorite over the Washington Redskins. San Francisco is favored by 4.5 points over the Los Angeles Chargers.

NFL Preseason Week 4 Games

Teams                                              Odds                    Over/Under

Pittsburgh at Carolina                      Steelers -3.5              33

Minnesota at Buffalo                       Vikings -3                  35

Indianapolis at Cincinnati                Bengals -3               33.5

Philadelphia at NY Jets                  Jets -4                     35

Atlanta at Jacksonville                   Jaguars -4               32.5

Baltimore at Washington                Ravens -6                33.5

NY Giants at New England            Patriots -2.5             33.5

Detroit at Cleveland                       Browns -4.5             33.5

Kansas City at Green Bay             Packers -2.5            34.5

Tampa Bay at Dallas                     Cowboys -5              33.5

Tennessee at Chicago                  Bears -2.5                 33

LA Rams at Houston                    Texans -3                  33

Miami at New Orleans                  Saints -3.5                37

Arizona at Denver                         Broncos -1.5            33

LA Chargers at San Francisco      49ers -4.5                33.5

Oakland at Seattle                        Seahawks -2.5         33.5

Odds Courtesy of Westgate LV SuperBook

 

We take a look at other storylines for some of the 16 games that proceed the first week of the regular season.

Who will be Pittsburgh’s Back Up QB?

The battle between Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph comes to a head against the Carolina Panthers. Dobbs is expected to start, though Rudolph appears to have the edge right now for Ben Roethlisberger’s back up.

Dobbs started the first preseason game and went 5 of 8 for 85 yards. Rudolph came in and went 5 of 8 for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

The second game Rudolph got the start and went 10 of 15 for 77 yards. Dobbs went six of 11 for 95 yards and an interception.

In Week 3 Dobbs threw another interception, and got criticized by coach Mike Tomlin.

“Dobbs [has] gotta take better care of the ball, particularly in those situations,” Tomlin said. “We got the ball in the red zone, that’s points on the board, we gotta be more prudent there.”

Can Kaleb McGary Crack Starting Lineup?

The rookie right tackle had a cardiac ablation procedure to correct a heart arrhythmia problem called ventricular tachycardia a month ago. He did not play in any previous preseason games, but has been cleared by Atlanta Falcons’ medical staff and is expected to start against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Can one game be enough for McGary to crack the starting lineup? He is currently listed behind five-year veteran Ty Sambrailo, who started four games last year.

Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn said he looks forward to see what the first-round draft pick can do.

He had an awesome week,” Quinn said. “I know that he’s excited. I’m excited to see him go, too.”

McGary had a similar procedure done twice while at the University of Washington, and hopes this is the last one.

“It could have been a lot worse,” McGary said. “There’s not much to complain about. I’m happy with how things have gone and confident they did what they could to fix the problem. Hopefully it’s gone for good this time.”

Can Baltimore Coach Harbaugh go 16-0?

John Harbaugh has been like Knute Rockne in the preseason. He has a 15-0 record, and is looking for his third consecutive undefeated preseason. The Ravens are six-point favorites, and have covered all three of their previous games.

Harbaugh said a couple of positions aren’t settled, most notably the left guard spot. He told reporters that there are five players (Jermaine Eluemunor, Bradley Bozeman, rookie Ben Powers, James Hurst and undrafted rookie Patrick Mekari) that are all vying for a spot.

“In my mind, it’s still open. I’m sure there are people in the building, coaches, who have their opinions, but I’m very open right now. It’ll probably, in all honesty, remain a competition until somebody establishes themselves as the established starter. There’s a difference between being a starter and an established starter, and that person’s going to have to continue to earn that by how they play into the regular season.”