2018 NFL Preseason Week 1 Sure Losers

We’re about to see the first live action of the 2018 NFL season, as the first week of the preseason gets underway Thursday. Chicago and Baltimore did open the games last Thursday with the Hall of Fame, but now the other 30 teams join in, with games coming from Thursday through the weekend. We’ve taken a look at the matchups and come up with four teams who look like locks to come up on the short end in their preseason opener. All NFL Preseason Week 1 betting picks in this article are against the point spread, so check out our advice before locking in your wagers. Home teams are in all caps.

2018 NFL Preseason Week 1 Sure Losers

Ravens bump down a spot to No. 15 in NFL’s power rankings https://t.co/AWojGnJTXn

— The Ravens Wire (@TheRavensWire) August 8, 2018

Thursday, August 9

Chicago (+2) over CINCINNATI (7:00pm ET)

The Bears have an advantage here of having played in the Hall of Fame Game, which means they won’t need to acclimate themselves to game speed — they’ve already been there. They’ve already seen Chase Daniel clank an interception in the early going, which isn’t uncommon in the chaos of early preseason games. Cincinnati may show us Andy Dalton at quarterback for a series, but after that it will be the unimpressive group of Matt Barkley, Logan Woodside and Jeff Driskel. The Bears have added some talent on both sides of the ball, and they have both the optimism of a new head coach and the desire to redeem themselves after falling in the Hall of Fame Game.

SAN FRANCISCO (-3.5) over Dallas (11:00pm ET)

The San Francisco 49ers finished strong down the stretch last year, winning five in a row as the Jimmy Garoppolo Era began with no little enthusiasm. Garoppolo isn’t likely to see much action against Dallas, which means Jack Heneghan, C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens are likely to get the bulk of the offensive action. However, they don’t have as many questions as Dallas, which needs to find a #1 wide receiver and a tight end, and which still features a youth movement on defense. I don’t anticipate we’ll see much of Dak Prescott or Ezekiel Elliott, but we could see Bo Scarborough carrying the ball for Dallas — while Cooper Rush, Mike White and Dalton Sturm take turns at quarterback. The Cowboys generally don’t win much in their preseason opener, as head coach Jason Garrett likes to focus on evaluation more than outcome. These factors to combine to make the Niners the likely winner (and to cover as well).

Friday, August 10

Atlanta (+2.5) over N.Y. JETS (7:30pm ET)

Matt Ryan will likely play just a series, if at all, for Atlanta against the Jets. However, the next man on the depth chart is Matt Schaub, who has a year left on his contract but needs to show that he can still manage the offense well enough to fight off Garrett Grayson or Kurt Benkert, who are younger quarterbacks who could knock Schaub off the depth chart. Schaub has never shown any signs of the sort of skill or success that he had in Houston before going into that bizarre interception streak. However, Atlanta has a young, quick defense — much more put together than that of the Jets, who need help at all three levels of defense. They do have some exciting things happening on offense, with the arrival of Teddy Bridgewater and the draft of Sam Darnold at quarterback, but I don’t think they will have jelled enough yet by Friday to beat Atlanta and their system.

OAKLAND (-3) over Detroit (10:30pm ET)

Both teams have new head coaches, with Jon Gruden in Oakland and with Matt Patricia in Detroit. Both teams have young, talented quarterbacks who have failed to meet their full potential, with Oakland’s Derek Carr and Detroit’s Matthew Stafford. Both teams have massive questions to answer on the defensive side of the ball and in the running game. Given that this game is taking place in Oakland, and that Gruden has a Super Bowl championship, I see him getting his team prepared well enough to take this win.