5*

This is a 5* play on Under 37.5.

The first week of pre-season usually produces a lot of low scoring games, and we expect that to be the case here when the Pats host the Washington Football team tonight. Both these teams ranked near the bottom of the league in passing last year, and when they met in 2019 Washington scored just seven points. I expect a conservative approach here with both teams running a vanilla game plan just looking to get out of here without any serious injuries.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 10* play on [email protected] over 33.

The Seahawks will host Oakland in the final game of the pre-season, and the bookmakers have set the total at just 33. There is plenty of history between these teams, as they have faced each other in the final week of the pre-season every year since 2006. Last year the Raiders won 30-19 at Seattle, and it was the fifth time in the last six years that these teams combined to score 40+ points in the final week of the pre-season. Most coaches have already packed it in by Week 4, but the numbers say that Gruden and Carroll both likely want to win this game. Gruden is an incredible 7-1 lifetime in the final week of the pre-season, while Carroll is 6-3. Oakland has a pair of QBs with starting experience in Nathan Peterman and Mike Glennon, and both Geno Smith and Paxton Lynch have put up solid numbers for Seattle.

Take Over.

GL,

Jesse Schule

Jesse Schule

Jesse Schule

Jesse Schule

This is an 8* play on [email protected] to go OVER the total.

The Texans may have lost to the Panthers in Week 1, but they have to be impressed with rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson. He threw for 179 yards on 15-of-25 passing, but wasn't able to get in the endzone. I expect to see plenty of Watson here this week at home, and I think he might just be even sharper. The Patriots lost to Jacksonville in Week 1, and Chad Henne looked like Aaron Rodgers against New England's second and third string defense. Jimmy G was impressive though, throwing for 235 yards and two TDs on 22-of-28 passing. Brady could see a series or two tonight, and between he and Jimmy G, expect to see the Pats score their share of points. It could be an old fashioned shootout here in Texas at NRG Stadium.

Take OVER.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is an 8* play on [email protected] to go OVER the total.

Aaron Rodgers didn't see any action in the first week of pre-season, but we expect to see him for a series or two tonight. Backup quarterbacks Brett Hundley and Joe Callahan did a good job of moving the ball in a 24-9 win over Philly. The Packers coaching staff was not happy with the defense though, as missed tackles appeared to be a significant issue. The Redskins didn't have any success on offense in a Week 1 loss at Baltimore, but we expect to see more action for the starters at home here against the Packers. Kirk Cousins should get more time, and he's likely to be airing it out whenever he gets a chance. Cousins threw for 188 yards and three TDs in his first action of last year's pre-season. The Redskins won both home games last pre-season, and scored a combined 43 points in those contests. I expect this to be a relatively high scoring affair between two teams that lean heavily on their passing attack.

Take OVER.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 10* play on [email protected] to go UNDER the total.

The third week of the pre-season is known to be the most important, the one game that actually matters. This is when most coaches like to leave the starters in for a little longer, in order to get a good idea of what they have to work with. Pete Carroll has a reputation as a guy that covets winning pre-season games, especially in the crucial third week. Since 2012, Seattle is 4-0 in their third game of the pre-season, and in those games they held opponents to an average of just 11 points. The Cowboys are likely to be cautious to avoid injury to Tony Romo, so we should see plenty of Dak Prescott in this game. As good as Prescott has looked against backups, and vanilla schemes, he's going to have a tough time moving the ball against the toughest defenders in the league. Seattle knows what it has at quarterback, so I expect the Hawks to really focus on running the ball here. The last time these teams met in the regular season, the Seahawks won 13-12 at Dallas. They've failed to reach the total in six of the last eight head to head meetings, and I think tonight's total is just a little too high.

Take UNDER.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 10* play on [email protected] to go OVER the total. 

The Eagles offense has been a lighting up opposing defenses this pre-season, which really shouldn't come as a surprise. Chip Kelly's team averaged well over 30 points per game while going 2-2 in last year's pre-season. As impressive as their offense has been, the defense hasn't been all that stellar. Last week in Green Bay the Packers played their third and fourth string quarterbacks, and they threw for 399 yards and three TDs. 

This week we should see plenty of playing time for backup quarterbacks, but the Jets have one of the league's better backups in Matt Flynn. The former Green Bay quarterback has put up impressive numbers over his career in these situations, and he needs to have a good game tonight if he hopes to secure a roster spot. 

Kelly's system is designed to move the ball quickly, without taking much time off the clock. It doesn't matter whether it's practice, pre-season, regular season or the playoffs, everything is at full speed. They beat the Ravens by a score of 40-17 in Week 2, without scoring a single passing TD. They scored 37 points in a win over the Jets in their final game of last year's pre-season, and I expect another high scoring game here tonight. 

Take OVER. GL, Jesse Schule

This is a 10* play on [email protected] to go OVER the total. 

The Titans offense has looked pretty good so far in the pre-season, but I am not as optimistic about their defense. They are in Kansas City in Week 3, in a game that should see both teams starters play significant minutes. 

Marcus Mariota had a terrible start, turning the ball over twice in a 31-24 loss to the Falcons in Week 1. He bounced back with a better performance last week, throwing for 59 yards on 5-of-8 passing, Zack Mettenberger has been solid in both games, throwing for over 200 yards with a pair of TDs and an INT. 

The Chiefs made headlines last season as quarterback Alex Smith went the entire year without throwing a single TD pass to a wide receiver. The addition of Jeremy Maclin should change that, and the pair hooked up for a three yard strike in the first quarter of last week's win over the Seahawks. Smith and backup Chase Daniel should have little trouble moving the ball against a Titans defense than ranked 27th in the NFL last season. 

Five of the last six meetings between these two teams have gone over the total. 

Take OVER. 

GL, 

Jesse Schule

This is a 10* play on [email protected] to go OVER the total. 

The Eagles scored 36 points in a blowout win over the Colts in Week 1. It wasn't much of a surprise when you consider the Eagles were just 2-2 in last year's pre-season, winning both of their home games. They scored more than their fair share of points, averaging just short of 33 points per game.

The Ravens also put up a big number in their pre-season opener, defeating the Saints by a score of 30-27. Joe Flacco completed five of six pass attempts for 33 yards with no TDs and no INTs. He should see a little more time here in the second week of pre-season play. 

Sam Bradford did not play on Week 1, but we should see him here in tonight's game. The word out of training camp is that Bradford has been quite impressive, but Mark Sanchez has also been doing his best to create a quarterback controversy. Sanchez stole the show completing 132 of 184 pass attempts for 11 TDs and just one interception in practices prior to last week's game.

Kelly's coaching philosophy is that he does everything at "full speed", and it doesn't matter if it's practice, pre-season or regular season. We should expect another high scoring affair in Philly tonight. 

Take OVER. 

GL, 

Jesse Schule

This is a 5* play on [email protected] to go UNDER the total.

It came as no surprise that we saw another low scoring tilt between the Steelers and the Vikings in this year's Hall of Fame Game. The first game of the pre-season has failed to go over 37 points in eight of the last 11 annual events. Low scoring games are the norm in the pre-season, and I find it a little odd that bookmakers seem overly optimistic about how many points are going to be scored here in Week 1. We saw five of the six games go under on the opening Thursday of the 2014 pre-season, and only five of 18 games saw more than 37 points scored in the entire first week.

The Cowboys and the Chargers met on Thursday night last season, and the Chargers won that game by a score of 27-7. Tony Romo did not play at all in that game, while Philip Rivers came in for just one series, going 4-for-4 for 61 yards with no TDs and no picks. Neither coach showed any desire to play their starters, and we will assume that it will be the same approach here this time around.

Take UNDER.

GL,

Jesse Schule

This is a 5* play on [email protected] to go UNDER the total. 

It came as no surprise that we saw another low scoring tilt between the Steelers and the Vikings in this year's Hall of Fame Game. The first game of the pre-season has failed to go over 37 points in eight of the last 11 annual events. Low scoring games are the norm in the pre-season, and I find it a little odd that bookmakers seem overly optimistic about how many points are going to be scored here in Week 1. We saw five of the six games go under on the opening Thursday of the 2014 pre-season, and only five of 18 games saw more than 37 points scored in the entire first week. 

The Dolphins went 3-1 in the 2014 pre-season, but their lone loss came in Week 1 by a score of 16-10 at Atlanta. Ryan Tannehill saw one series, going 6-for-6 for 62 yards and a TD. The rest of the Miami starters saw limited action as well, including Lamar Miller who had just four carries. Chicago was involved in a barn burner versus the Eagles in their first exhibition game of 2014, and their starters saw a bit more action. It's a new regime with John Fox taking over as head coach of the Bears though, and he could be a little more conservative. 

Take UNDER. 

GL, 

Jesse Schule

This is a 5* play on [email protected] to go UNDER the total. 

It came as no surprise that we saw another low scoring tilt between the Steelers and the Vikings in this year's Hall of Fame Game. The first game of the pre-season has failed to go over 37 points in eight of the last 11 annual events. Low scoring games are the norm in the pre-season, and I find it a little odd that bookmakers seem overly optimistic about how many points are going to be scored here in Week 1. We saw five of the six games go under on the opening Thursday of the 2014 pre-season, and only five of 18 games saw more than 37 points scored in the entire first week. 

The Packers lost at Tennessee by a score of 20-16 in their first exhibition game last year, and Aaron Rodgers didn't even step on the field. In fact the backup quarterbacks were 14-of-25 for 148 yards with no TDs and no picks. The focus seemed to be on the running game, with eight players combining for 148 yards on 35 carries. Tom Brady didn't see any action in a Week 1 loss to the Redskins last year, and Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 137 yards and a TD, but that was the Patriots only score. The word out of Patriots camp is that Garoppolo has really struggled, so Belickick will likely want to give him plenty of reps. 

Take UNDER. 

GL, 

Jesse Schule

This is a 5* play on [email protected] to go OVER the total. 

The Redskins host the Browns on Monday Night Football, and everyone is looking forward to seeing Johnny Manziel in just his second pre-season game. Browns rookie head coach Mike Pettine has already assured fans that Manziel will see time with the first team offense: "Johnny's going to get reps with the ones. Just to me, the factor of starting the game I think is a little bit overblown in this situation because we're going to try to balance the reps with the ones, It's a little overrated who trots out there for the first time."

The Redskins will also showcase more of their starters in this game, most notably their star wideouts Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. Backup quarterbacks Colt McCoy and Kirk Cousins impressed in the win over New England, throwing for a combined 205 yards and a pair of TDs. They will take a back seat to Robert Griffin tonight, at least for most of the first half. 

We have seen a trend of high scoring games in this pre-season, and tonight's game should be another shootout. Both teams are excited about their respective offenses, and with the aid of the flag happy officials, there should be no shortage of points. 

Take OVER. 

GL, 

Jesse Schule

This is a 2* play on [email protected] to go OVER the total. 

The Colts and the Giants will meet in Indianapolis tonight, and these are two teams that are known more for offensive prowess rather than solid defense. The Giants come in with a perfect 2-0 record, while the Colts lost to the Jets in Week 1. 

We didn't see a lot of Andrew Luck in New York, but we should expect the young quarterback to make more of an impact on this game. The Colts played the Giants in the second week of last pre-season, and Luck had the bulk of the snaps, tossing a pair of TD passes. 

Eli only attempted two passes in the win at Pittsburgh last week, but I expect to see the Giants play their starters a little more here tonight. They have had two games to shake off the rust, and should be ready to test drive the first team offense. 

So far we've seen the officials tossing a lot of flags, and that might be one reason why all four games went over the total last night. I'm expecting to see these teams air it out, and we should see plenty of points. Take OVER. GL, Jesse Schule