Best NFL Preseason Bets for August 8th: Friday Preseason Top Picks

Football is back — well, sort of.

Sure, they’re only preseason games, but it’s still football — and preseason football is better than no football.

The idea of betting on preseason games is not as crazy as you might think. The key is to do the same thing you would for a regular-season game: research. Know the teams, know the coaches, know the trends, and you can make some winning preseason bets.

Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons

Like we said, know the coaches. How concerned are they with winning? What is their motivation?

Dan Campbell and the Lions went 2-1 in the preseason the last two years. But the Lions are Super Bowl contenders and owners of one of the best rosters in the league. Campbell isn’t looking for starters — he’s more interested in finding depth. That was evident in the Hall of Fame Game, a 34-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on July 31.

Raheem Morris and the Falcons went 0-3 in the preseason last year, his first as the head coach in Atlanta. In past stints as a head coach, he went 5-10 straight up and 6-9 against the spread. After a lackluster season last year, Morris and the Falcons could use a win. Morris has stated that Atlanta’s rookies will see time.

No one wants to win more than a rookie in his first NFL game.

Pick: Falcons ML at +170 (DraftKings)

Detroit is a 3.5-point favorite, but Campbell showed no interest in winning the Hall of Fame Game or even keeping it competitive. I don’t expect him to try here.

Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers

This could be one of the more interesting preseason games. After holding his starters out last year, Panthers head coach Dave Canales has said they’ll play in the first two games this year. That means we’ll have an intriguing quarterback matchup with Bryce Young and Shedeur Sanders getting the start.

The Browns are somewhat of a train wreck, but the Panthers were not very good last year either. After a poor season in Year One, the need to win is stronger for Canales than for Kevin Stefanski. However, the much-maligned Sanders has a lot to prove, too.

Pick: Browns +6.5 at -110 (BetMGM)

Canales has the motivation to win and has said the starters will get time, but that could mean a series, a quarter or the first half — we just don’t know. Sanders, however, has more motivation to win than anyone in the NFL after his draft fall and all the bad press during the offseason.

With Joe Flacco sitting out, Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett injured, and Tyler Huntley signing with the team this week, I wouldn’t be shocked if Sanders plays the whole game.

Washington Commanders at New England Patriots

Jayden Daniels will not play for the Commanders. It’s unclear who will be under center since fellow quarterback Marcus Mariota missed practice Monday.

As for the Patriots, head coach Mike Vrabel expects most of his healthy players to see time. How much time remains to be seen, but it sounds like we will see Drake Maye for a little while. Historically, Vrabel has gone 7-7 straight up and 5-7-2 ATS in preseason games; Dan Quinn is 7-17 straight up and 7-16-1 ATS.

Pick: Under 34.5 at -108 (DraftKings)

It’s hard to say who might win. Evaluation and preservation will be the goals for both coaches. Asking the Patriots to cover a 6.5-point spread feels like too much, but it’s hard to be confident Washington will keep it close.

Only 42.9% of preseason games scored 35-plus points last season.