The fourth and final week of preseason is upon us. It’s typically the one where teams care the least as the regular season is less than two weeks away. However, some position battles are still ongoing. Here’s a look at five key games to keep an eye on for NFL betting players:
Indianapolis Colts @ Cincinnati Bengals
Thursday August 29th, 2019 – 7:00 PM ET
There is no way the Colts’ game will be as entertaining as last week’s matchup with the Chicago Bears. After all, the news of Andrew Luck’s retirement was tweeted out by ESPN’s Adam Schefter in the middle of Saturday night’s game, with Luck on the sideline while his teammates and fans slowly learned of the news. It’s potentially devastating news for an Indianapolis side that went from legitimate Super Bowl contender with Luck under center to fringe playoff contender with Jacoby Brissett as the starter on paper.
Still, there’s some intrigue here as backup quarterback Chad Kelly is quite talented. He’ll play this week and might push for starts if Brissett struggles.
NFL Betting Line: Bengals -3
Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Jets
Thursday August 29th, 2019 – 7:00 PM ET
Josh McCown went from retired quarterback to throwing for 192 yards and two touchdowns as the starter for the Eagles in last week’s 26-15 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. While Carson Wentz is still on track to be ready for Philadelphia in Week 1, McCown will get another crack at game action this week and it will come against his former team. McCown helped mentor second-year quarterback Sam Darnold throughout his rookie season. Now he returns to East Rutherford to play a number of good friends and former teammates.
NFL Betting Line: Jets -3
Baltimore Ravens @ Washington Redskins
Thursday August 29th, 2019 – 7:30 PM ET
One of the most appreciated storylines that NFL betting fans will monitor this week is the Ravens’ potential to finish the preseason with a perfect record for the fourth year in a row. Baltimore is 16-0 over the last four preseasons, which makes them one of the most fun teams for bettors to follow and root for at this time of the year. Rookie sixth-round pick Trace McSorley went 19-of-28 for 203 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s win over Philadelphia.
NFL Betting Line: Ravens -6
Los Angeles Rams @ Houston Texans
Thursday August 29th, 2019 – 8:00 PM ET
While Indianapolis suffered the biggest blow of the preseason with the news of Luck’s retirement, Houston is dealing with its own issues. The Texans lost running back Lamar Miller to a torn ACL. They also have some major issues on the offensive line that they won’t be able to fix with most of their starters on the sideline.
Week 4 will be an important test for Houston’s backup offensive linemen that need to be ready to be called in to action if need for Week 1 of the regular season.
As for the Rams, they have rested their starters all preseason and that won’t change this week.
NFL Betting Line: Texans -2.5
Kansas City Chiefs @ Green Bay Packers
Thursday August 29th, 2019 – 8:00 PM ET
Two teams that have been talked about as potential Super Bowl contenders will meet in Week 4 of the preseason hoping that they will meet again on the biggest stage of them all. For both teams, this game will be about giving the fringe players on the roster one more opportunity to showcase their talents. The emergence of rookie running back Darwin Thompson has made the Chiefs’ running back situation a little more interesting. Thompson could see at least a couple of snaps once again in Green Bay.
NFL Betting Line: Packers -2