Ten Preseason Games, And Nine Of The Ten Spreads Sit Inside Four Points

Washington handled Miami 20-7 on August 14, a thirteen point win. That result is why the Commanders are the road favourite here at -1.5.

Detroit lost 16-14 in Cincinnati on August 13, a two point game decided late, which is the most common shape a preseason contest takes. The Lions are 0-1 and playing at Ford Field for the first time this August.

The total is 36.5, the number attached to eight of Saturday's ten games. Noon kickoffs in the preseason usually mean an early curtain for the starters, and the group that decides this one is likely to be the group fighting for the last six roster spots.

Cleveland is laying three points at home after being beaten 34-10 by Chicago on August 15, the widest defeat suffered by anyone playing on Saturday. That combination of a bad loss and a home favourite tag is the market pricing depth chart intentions rather than momentum.

Buffalo comes in at 1-0 following a 29-14 win over Carolina on the same day. Twenty nine points was the second highest total scored by any Saturday participant in Week 2, behind only Chicago's 34.

The number is 36.5 again. This is the second of three games kicking off at 1:00 PM ET, and it is the only one of the three where the team that lost by more than three touchdowns is favoured.

Indianapolis owns the only tie on the board. The Colts and New England played to 13-13 on August 13, and that is where the 0-0-1 record comes from. They are 3.5 point home favourites, the joint largest number outside of Tampa Bay.

Atlanta lost 27-7 to Denver on August 14 at home. Seven points was the lowest output of any Saturday participant in Week 2, matched only by Philadelphia and Miami.

The total is 36.5. Indianapolis under a closed roof is a different environment from the outdoor afternoon games elsewhere on this board, and it is the one Saturday matchup where both clubs have something specific to fix on offense.

This is the only game on Saturday between two clubs that both won in Week 2. Baltimore beat Philadelphia 24-7 on August 15 and Minnesota edged the Giants 13-10 on the same afternoon.

Those two wins could not have looked more different. The Ravens won by seventeen, the second largest margin of any team playing Saturday behind Chicago's twenty four point win over Cleveland. The Vikings needed a three point margin and scored thirteen. Minnesota is -3 at home.

The total is 36.5. U.S. Bank Stadium is the second indoor venue on the board and, alongside Indianapolis, the environment least likely to interfere with what either coaching staff wants to see from its backups.

Both of these clubs won in Week 2 and only one of them is favoured. New Orleans beat Jacksonville 24-20 on August 15 and is listed at -1.5 on the road. Los Angeles beat Kansas City 20-12 the same day and is the home underdog.

That Rams win is the most useful data point on this page, because the team they beat plays later on Saturday in Tampa as a 5.5 point underdog. Los Angeles held Kansas City to twelve points and to no touchdown-heavy stretch at any point.

The total is 36.5. New Orleans and Los Angeles are the only Saturday pairing where both clubs scored at least twenty points in Week 2.

Two 0-1 clubs, and the visitor is laying 3.5. The Giants lost 13-10 in Minnesota on August 15, a competitive defeat. Miami lost 20-7 in Washington on August 14, and seven points was tied for the lowest total put up by any Saturday participant.

Those two results explain the pricing better than the identical records do. New York was within one score in the fourth quarter. Miami was not.

The total is 36.5. This is the only game on the board where two teams with the same record are separated by more than three points on the spread, which is a small but real signal about how the market read those Week 2 tapes.

Chicago produced the most emphatic performance of Week 2 by anyone playing on Saturday, beating Cleveland 34-10 on August 15. Thirty four points was the highest total scored by any club on this board.

Cincinnati beat Detroit 16-14 on August 13 in a game that came down to a single score. The Bengals are 1-0 and hosting, and they are still the underdog at home, with Chicago laying 1.5.

The total is 36.5. Both clubs enter unbeaten, and this is one of only two Saturday matchups where that is true, the other being Baltimore at Minnesota earlier in the day.

Thirty five and a half. That is the lowest total anywhere on the Saturday board, and it belongs to two clubs that managed twenty points between them in Week 2: Philadelphia scored seven in a 24-7 loss at Baltimore, and New England scored thirteen in its 13-13 tie with Indianapolis.

Twenty combined points across two games is the number driving that total. Philadelphia is still the favourite at -1.5 despite losing by seventeen a week ago.

New England is 0-0-1 and has not lost yet, which is a technically true statement that means very little. Gillette Stadium in late August is one of the last live looks either staff gets before final roster cuts.

Arizona is the only club on this board that has already played twice. The Cardinals lost 33-30 to Carolina on August 7 in the earliest game of the entire preseason, then beat Las Vegas 27-14 on August 14, which leaves them at 1-1 while everyone else has a single result.

Dallas beat Seattle 17-7 on August 16, the latest Week 2 game to finish. The Cowboys are 1-0 and are the road underdog here, with Arizona laying 1.5.

The total is 37.5, the highest number on the board. Arizona has scored 57 points across two games, more than double what most Saturday participants have managed, and that is the entire reason this total is a point above the standard 36.5.