Week 2 NFL Preseason Odds: Betting Lines, Game Trends and Analysis

There are just three games on tap for Thursday in the NFL preseason, but two of them could be very early Super Bowl previews, including a rematch of last year’s big game between the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles (0-1) and New England Patriots (1-0).

The Patriots are listed as three-point home favorites on the Week 2 NFL preseason odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark as they look to avenge a 41-33 loss to the Eagles back on February 4 in Super Bowl LII.

New England closed as a 4.5-point favorite in the Super Bowl but saw Eagles backup quarterback Nick Foles carve up the team’s secondary en route to earning MVP honors and Philadelphia’s first Vince Lombardi Trophy. Last week, Foles did not even play in the preseason opener for the Eagles, which was a 31-14 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, it was former Indiana University quarterback Nate Sudfeld and Wesley College’s Joe Callahan seeing all the snaps.

Philadelphia closed as a three-point favorite in the loss and could play Sudfeld and Callahan the whole game again with Foles (neck) and starter Carson Wentz (knee) still recovering from injuries.

The Patriots won their preseason opener 26-17 against the Washington Redskins last Thursday, rallying from an early 17-0 deficit to cover the spread as 2.5-point home favorites. New England backup quarterback Brian Hoyer and rookie Danny Etling played the entire game under center, although Tom Brady could see some action this week.

The Steelers (1-0) were impressive in routing the Eagles in their preseason opener on the road, and they will travel to Lambeau Field next to take on the Green Bay Packers (1-0). Pittsburgh saw quarterbacks Landry Jones, Joshua Dobbs and rookie Mason Rudolph throw for a total of 252 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

The Packers are 5-point home favorites after defeating the Tennessee Titans 31-17 in a pick’em matchup at Lambeau last week. Green Bay got solid quarterback play from three signal-callers not named Aaron Rodgers, with new addition DeShone Kizer, rookie Tim Boyle and last year’s backup Brett Hundley combining for 356 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

The most lackluster of Thursday’s three NFL preseason games will take place at Washington, where the Redskins (0-1) will look to bounce back versus the New York Jets (1-0) as small home favorites. Washington head coach Jay Gruden fell to 2-3 in Week 1 of the preseason but is 3-1 in Week 2, while New York hopes to ride its quarterback battle to another victory.

The Jets got solid performances from rookie Sam Darnold (96 yards and one touchdown) and veteran Teddy Bridgewater (7-of-8 passing for 85 yards and one touchdown) while journeyman Josh McCown completed his lone pass attempt for four yards in a 17-0 rout of the Atlanta Falcons last week to easily cover as four-point home favorites.

For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.