NFL Preseason Week 1 Betting Trends, Odds, Predictions

Many casual football bettors rely on trends as part of their handicapping regime, but can money-making patterns appear in preseason games?

Preseason NFL bettors who backed the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans at home in August have turned a huge profit in recent years.

Pittsburgh has won 11 straight home preseason games, while the Titans have won 12 straight at home in August. Ironically, the last home loss for each team was Aug. 11, 2007. And both are at home this week as the NFL exhibition schedule kicks off in earnest.

"Some people shake their heads when you mention betting on preseason games, but hey, it's football and if there is a profit opportunity, why not explore it?" said Jack Randall in an interview Thursday. The OddsShark.com football analyst said trends must be "taken with a grain of salt," but sometimes a tempting pattern will appear.

In Thursday's Patriots-Eagles matchup, two teams with plenty of off-field distractions finally get a chance to clobber someone wearing a different jersey. Throw in the Nick Foles vs Michael Vick quarterback competition and you have potential for a high-scoring affair.

And if past performance can predict future behavior, the Eagles (6-0 in their past six preseason games) should have an edge on the Patriots (0-6 ATS in their past six).

Miami is winless in five straight preseason games and they face a short week after losing the Hall of Fame Game Sunday. The Jets are also winless (0-5 ATS) dating back to 2011 while the Kansas City Chiefs continue to ride one of the worst streaks in betting history.

In 34 preseason games dating back nearly nine seasons, the Chiefs have covered the spread just five times, according to an NFL trend sheet at NFLOdds.ca.

The Lions, Packers, Saints and Seahawks are also riding positive wagering streaks into this week's action.

In other semi-interesting story lines, Denver travels to San Francisco in what could be a Super Bowl preview.

And Cincinnati faces Atlanta in a battle of surging teams that are fashionable preseason picks to challenge for the Super Bowl.

Predictions: Eagles vs Patriots OVER 40.5; Steelers vs Giants UNDER 35.5