NFL Preseason Pick of the Week: Detroit Lions vs. Jacksonville Jaguars – Friday, Aug. 28
Current BetAnySports Line: Jaguars -2 and the total is sitting at 39 1/2
The Detroit Lions and the Jacksonville Jaguars kick-off Week 3 of the NFL preseason this Friday night at EverBank Field in an 8 p.m. (ET) start that will be broadcast nationally on CBS. Both teams come into this game with a 1-1 record in the preseason both straight-up and against the spread. BetAnySports has listed Jacksonville as a slight one-point home favorite and the betting odds for the total have been set at 42.5.
The Lions followed-up their 23-2 victory over the New York Jets as four-point home favorites in Week 1 with a 21-17 loss to Washington this past week as three-point road underdogs. The total stayed UNDER BetAnySports’ closing line in each game. Over the first two games starting quarterback Matthew Stafford has looked sharp in limited action with 135 yards passing and one score while completing eight of 10 throws. Look for him to possibly play into the second half in Friday night’s contest.
Detroit’s offense as a whole this preseason has averaged 215 yards passing and another 119.5 yards a game on the ground. Zach Zenner leads the team in rushing with 77 yards on 17 carries, but most of the attention has focused on second-round pick Ameer Abdullah with 74 yards rushing on just nine attempts for an average of 8.2 yards a run.
Jacksonville’s 1-1 start consists of a 23-21 victory against Pittsburgh in Week 1 as slight one-point home favorites followed by last Friday’s 22-12 loss to the New York Giants as a 3.5-point underdog on the road. The total went OVER the 37-point line against the Steelers and it stayed UNDER the 40.5-point line against New York.
The expectation level for Blake Bortles remains high coming into his second year as the Jaguars’ starting quarterback. Through limited playing time in the first two games he has completed 19-of-31 attempts for 216 yards. Jacksonville’s offense has struggled to move the ball both through the air and on the ground with an average of 284.5 yards in two games. Against the Giants, it only managed to gain 60 yards rushing.
Both team’s starters should play well into the second half on Friday night which clearly gives the edge in this matchup to Detroit. Last season the Lions beat Jacksonville 13-12 in Week 3 of the preseason as three-point favorites at home. This time around look for Detroit to win SU by a much wider margin.
To Comment on this post please visit our popular posting forums and don’t forget to check out our 2015 NFL and College Football contests that will be starting up in a few weeks with over $15K in prizes.
