NFL Preseason Week 1: Picks, Predictions and Odds

After a long and eventful offseason, the return of football is just about here with this year's first full slate of NFL preseason games kicking off this week.

Training camp has already produced a myriad of storylines, and football fans and bettors alike can make their NFL predictions as the upcoming season gets closer.

The preseason officially got underway on August 1 with the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans facing off in the annual Hall of Fame Game - which was called off early due to a storm.

Now, the rest of the league will take to the field for the first of three preseason games, as each team looks to ease back into game shape while potentially implementing new schemes on both sides of the ball.

With the preseason finally kicking off in earnest this week, let’s take a look at the odds for each matchup, plus our betting picks and predictions for Week 1 of the NFL preseason. 

NFL Preseason Week 1 betting picks and predictions

Carolina Panthers vs. New England Patriots: Under 34.5 (-110)

This is a spot where it makes sense for both teams involved to stick to a fairly conservative game script and focus on buttoning up the little details, as opposed to going for an offensive outburst in the first preseason game.

The Patriots are not expected to give much run to either of their first or second string quarterbacks (Jacoby Brissett and rookie Drake Maye), meaning that Bailey Zappe is likely to get the start under center in this one.

Playing time is going to be dependent on the coaching staff, but it’s important to note that head coach Jerod Mayo has already given quotes expressing his commitment to running the football and sticking to a basic script on offense in this game. That bodes well for an under here.

On the other side, the Carolina Panthers are unlikely to give Bryce Young or Andy Dalton much preseason time, which points us in the direction of seeing rookie Jack Plummer get plenty of reps under center.

It’s hard to see how the Panthers wouldn’t plan out a fairly conservative script on offense with Plummer at the controls, so let’s target the Under 34.5 total points for our best bet in this game.

Atlanta Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins: Falcons -2.5 (-110)

Unlike the previous game we highlighted, this matchup between the Falcons and Dolphins is one that gives us a bit of value on the Atlanta side.

There’s an element of the unknown with Atlanta coming into this preseason, which gives us a bit of value compared to how the Falcons are being priced in the market.

We can expect to see Michael Penix in this game, and even if the rookie plays less than expected, the offense will be in good hands with a veteran presence at the controls in Taylor Heinicke.

Conversely, the Dolphins are unlikely to give Tua Tagovailoa much playing time in this game, meaning that we’ll see a bit of Mike White and a bit of Skylar Thompson in this contest. Those aren’t awful quarterbacks by any means, but I’d still trust Atlanta’s offense more in this one.

The Dolphins have also lost two of their last three home preseason games in the Mike McDaniel era, so let’s get to the window with the Falcons -2.5 as our best bet for this game.

Philadelphia Eagles vs Baltimore Ravens: Ravens ML (+110)

To close out our 2024 NFL preseason Week 1 predictions, let’s take the Baltimore Ravens to win outright against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

John Harbaugh has been a proven commodity straight up and against the spread in the preseason since 2016, going undefeated for six consecutive preseasons until last year.

And while the Ravens were just 1-2 straight up and 0-3 against the number a season ago, this is still a team with plenty of depth in the quarterback and running back rooms, which allows them to excel in this exhibition setting.

Baltimore’s defense will almost always show up in any game as well, a product of the culture that Harbaugh and company have built with the Ravens.

On the other side, the Eagles have had the opposite mindset toward the preseason under head coach Nick Sirianni. They are just 2-7 straight up over their last nine preseason games, so this is certainly not a team that deserves to be favored on the road in this matchup.

Even if the Ravens' long-term track record is a bit misleading for this preseason as a whole, Baltimore is still the right side in this contest. We’ll take the Ravens money line at plus money for the best bet.

Read more betting picks and predictions for the NFL on site.

NFL Preseason Week 1 odds

Date	Home	Away	Spread
Aug 8	DET Lions	NY Giants	NYG -3.5
Aug 8	CAR Panthers	NE Patriots	NE -4.5
Aug 9	HOU Texans	PIT Steelers	HOU -1.5
Aug 9	ATL Falcons	MIA Dolphins	ATL -2.5
Aug 9	PHI Eagles	BAL Ravens	PHI -2.5
Aug 10	WAS Commanders	NY Jets	WAS -3
Aug 10	CHI Bears	BUF Bills	CHI -1.5
Aug 10	LV Raiders	MIN Vikings	LV -5.5
Aug 10	GB Packers	CLE Browns	CLE -4.5
Aug 10	SF 49ers	TEN Titans	TEN -4
Aug 10	KC Chiefs	JAX Jaguars	JAX -2.5
Aug 10	TB Buccaneers	CIN Bengals	CIN -4.5
Aug 10	SEA Seahawks	LA Chargers	SEA -1.5
Aug 10	NO Saints	ARI Cardinals	ARI -1
Aug 11	DEN Broncos	IND Colts	IND -1.5
Aug 11	DAL Cowboys	LA Rams	DAL -4.5

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.