Sign In $
NFL

Saturday’s Tip Sheet

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
9 minute read
Note: Quarterback rotation subject to change. Lines courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Bears at Colts (-3, 37 ½) - 7:00 PM EST

Chicago
Head Coach: Matt Nagy (2-5 SU, 3-4 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Mitchell Trubisky, Chase Daniel, Tyler Bray
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Brad Biggs

Chicago's offense hasn't accomplished much in the preseason by scoring 13 points each in a pair of losses to the Panthers and Giants. In last week's setback at New York, the Bears were held to only 165 yards as Mitchell Trubisky sat out. In spite of Chicago's offensive woes through two exhibition games, the OVER has hit in both contests, while the OVER is currently on a six-game run in the Bears' last six preseason contests. The Bears have won each of their last two preseason games in Week 3, including a 27-20 victory over the Bears as six-point home underdogs.

Indianapolis
Head Coach: Frank Reich (3-3 SU, 3-2-1 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Jacoby Brissett, Phillip Walker, Chad Kelly
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Stephen Holder

The Colts never led in a 21-18 home setback to the Browns last week as three-point favorites to fall to 0-2 in the preseason. Andrew Luck remains sidelined for the Colts with an ankle injury, but all three Indianapolis quarterbacks threw for at least 100 yards each, led by Chad Kelly's 115 yards. The Colts covered in all four preseason games in 2018 before failing to cash the first two weeks in 2019, as Indianapolis beat San Francisco in Week 3 last preseason in a pick-em spot.

Texans at Cowboys (PK, 40) - 7:00 PM EST

Houston
Head Coach: Bill O'Brien (13-8 SU, 12-8-1 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Deshaun Watson, AJ McCarron, Joe Webb
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Aaron Wilson

The Texans bounced back from a two-point loss at Green Bay to hold off Detroit last week, 30-23 to cash as three-point favorites. Deshaun Watson led the Texans to a touchdown in his only drive of the night by hooking up with DeAndre Hopkins on a four-yard scoring strike. Houston has easily hit the OVER in both preseason games after drilling the UNDER in three of four exhibition contests last season. The Texans have lost their last two Week 3 preseason contests, including a 21-20 road defeat to the Rams in 2018.

Dallas
Head Coach: Jason Garrett (13-22 SU, 11-21-3 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Mike White
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: David Helman

In a battle of teams that have proven they care little about the preseason, the Cowboys edged the Rams in Hawaii last Saturday, 14-10. Dallas not only covered as a 3 ½-point favorite, but the Cowboys snapped a five-game preseason skid to grab their first exhibition win since 2017. Ezekiel Elliott remains out for the Cowboys due to his contract dispute, while Dak Prescott completed all five passes for 64 yards in his limited action. Dallas lost at Houston in its previous exhibition matchup in Week 4 of 2018 by a 14-6 count as 4 ½-point underdogs.

Saints (-3, 42 ½) at Jets - 7:30 PM EST

New Orleans
Head Coach: Sean Payton (25-26 SU, 26-24-1 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, Taysom Hill, J.T. Barrett
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Mike Triplett

Following a 34-25 defeat to Minnesota to kick off the preseason, the Saints rebounded for a 19-17 triumph over the Chargers last week in Los Angeles. New Orleans rallied from a 17-3 deficit to outscore Los Angeles, 16-0 in the second half, highlighted by a pair of touchdown passes by Taysom Hill. The former BYU standout threw for 136 yards and rushed for an additional 53 yards, while Teddy Bridgewater was less than impressive by throwing for 40 yards and getting intercepting once. Drew Brees will see his first action of the preseason against New York as the Saints seek their fifth consecutive preseason road win dating back to 2017.

N.Y. Jets
Head Coach: Adam Gase (6-8 SU, 6-8 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Sam Darnold, Trevor Siemian, Davis Webb, Luke Falk
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Manish Mehta

The Jets also needed a rally in their last preseason contest as they scored the final 16 points of a 22-10 road victory over the Falcons. Luke Falk put the Jets ahead early in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass to Deontay Burnett, while James Burgess returned a late interception for a touchdown to seal it. The Jets have lost three consecutive Week 3 preseason games by a total of eight points since 2016.

49ers at Chiefs (-3 ½, 45) - 8:00 PM EST

San Francisco
Head Coach: Kyle Shanahan (5-5 SU, 5-4-1 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens, C.J. Beathard, Wilton Speight
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Cam Inman

Jimmy Garoppolo returns to the scene of the crime at Arrowhead Stadium as the 49ers' quarterback sustained a season-ending torn ACL last September. Garoppolo didn't play in the preseason opening win over the Cowboys, but suited up for the first time since that ACL injury in last Monday's 24-15 victory at Denver. The former Patriots' quarterback wasn't sharp in his return to the field by completing 1-of-6 passes, while getting intercepted once. The win over the Broncos snapped a three-game road preseason skid, as the Niners make their first exhibition trip to Kansas City since a 27-17 triumph in the 2017 opener.

Kansas City
Head Coach: Andy Reid (39-43 SU, 37-41-4 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne, Chase Litton, Kyle Shurmur
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Brooke Pryor

The Chiefs dominated the Bengals in the preseason opener at home, 38-17, but didn't produce much offense in last week's 17-7 defeat at Pittsburgh as three-point favorites. Patrick Mahomes didn't last long as threw for 15 yards on 2-of-5 attempts, while Chad Henne led the Chiefs to their only touchdown of the game late in the second quarter. As obscure as it may seem, the Chiefs have won five consecutive home preseason games that don't take place in Week 1, while losing their last two Week 3 preseason contests, both on the road.

Broncos at Rams (-1 ½, 35) - 8:00 PM EST

Denver
Head Coach: Vic Fangio (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Joe Flacco, Kevin Hogan, Brett Rypien
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Ryan O'Halloran

The Broncos rallied past the Falcons in the Hall of Fame game, 14-10, but Denver hasn't won since after losing to Seattle and San Francisco the last two weeks. Denver kicked three field goals early but didn't reach the end zone against San Francisco until 2:15 remaining in regulation in a 24-15 defeat. The Broncos racked up only 215 yards of offense, while second round pick Drew Lock exited the game with a thumb injury. All three preseason games for the Broncos have finished UNDER the total, which is in stark contrast to the 3-1 OVER mark in the 2018 exhibition campaign.

Los Angeles
Head Coach: Sean McVay (4-6 SU, 4-6 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Blake Bortles, Brandon Allen, John Wolford
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Gary Klein

The Rams have gutted out 13 points in two preseason losses to the Raiders and Cowboys, while Jared Goff and Todd Gurley haven't sniffed the field and won't until the regular season. The only positive to come out of the preseason is Los Angeles has allowed 14 points in each defeat, as the Rams yielded 20 or more points in three of four exhibition contests in 2018. This marks only the second time in Sean McVay's tenure as head coach of the Rams that Los Angeles is an exhibition favorite, as they failed to cover as 2 ½-point chalk in a 21-19 setback to the Chargers in Week 3 of the 2017 preseason.

Seahawks at Chargers (-3, 40 ½) - 10:00 PM EST

Seattle
Head Coach: Pete Carroll (33-22 SU, 36-18-1 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Russell Wilson, Paxton Lynch, Geno Smith
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Bob Condotta

The Seahawks took care of the Broncos in their preseason opener, 22-14 as two-point home underdogs to snap a four-game preseason skid. Seattle fell at Minnesota last week, 25-19 as three-point underdogs, while not scoring an offensive touchdown. The Seahawks returned an interception for a score, while the rest of their points came on four field goals. Russell Wilson threw for 82 yards in his first preseason action, while the Seahawks mustered 221 yards of offense. Seattle lost at Los Angeles last preseason, 24-14 as three-point underdogs, marking the Seahawks' lowest point total in an exhibition contest since an 18-11 loss to the Vikings in 2016.

Los Angeles
Head Coach: Anthony Lynn (4-8 SU, 4-7-1 ATS in preseason)
Quarterback Rotation: Philip Rivers, Tyrod Taylor, Cardale Jones, Easton Stick
Beat Writer Twitter Follow: Jeff Miller

The Chargers have dropped a pair of low-scoring preseason contests to the Cardinals and Saints by a combined six points. Los Angeles blew a 14-point lead in last week's 19-17 home defeat to New Orleans, as the Chargers' offense reached the end zone only once. Philip Rivers has yet to suit up in the preseason, as the veteran quarterback last played in an exhibition contest in a 36-7 drubbing to the Saints in Week 3 of 2018. Since starting the 2015 preseason at 2-0, the Chargers have slipped to a 4-12 mark in their past 16 exhibition games, while covering only six times in this stretch.

You can reach Kevin Rogers via e-mail at rogers@vegasinsider.com

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.

Where to place a bet this NFL Season?

  • Use our exclusive BetMGM Bonus Code VIBONUS1500 to unlock BetMGM’s welcome offer for new sportsbook users!
  • Compare the latest NFL Odds from the best sportsbooks before placing a bet on this week's games.
  • Check out the North Carolina Sportsbooks just before they launch legal online sports betting.

Nfl News

VegasInsider Staff

VegasInsider Staff

More from VegasInsider Staff
•