The following is verbatim from Pro Football Network’s debut NFL odds article giving weekly picks:
“At Pro Football Network, we believe in transparency, whether that means raking it in or taking it on the chin. Every author has every bet tracked and made public. No hiding. It’s preseason week 2, and it’s time for a group think tank on the best bets in the NFL odds landscape.
Remember that transparency thing? It’s important to note that we hardly ever bet on the preseason! (And neither do most people).”
You may have been tempted to fade your boys here at PFN, but that would’ve been ill-advised. As a group, we finished 4-3 (57%), taking home profit.
The top bet of preseason week 2 belongs to Ryan Gosling, hitting his 2-team parlay at +122 odds.
Assuming a $10 bet on each selection we provided, you would’ve taken home $9.47. Or if you think of betting in “units,” you would’ve made almost a full unit — so whatever per game wager you felt comfortable doing, you’ve made an individual game’s worth of money. If you bet $25 on each game, you would’ve made close to $24; $100 per game would’ve yielded ~$95 profit.
Extrapolating this over the course of the 17-week NFL regular season (again, assuming a $10 bet), you could buy a subscription to PFN, have $131 in free money, AND have access to fantasy, the data lab, the relentless NFL Draft coverage of Tony Pauline, and much more.
Then, you could take whatever fraction of that $131 of free money and bet it on Chris Smith’s 60% NFL Playoff win percentage, dating back to 2006!
Ladies and gentlemen, free money adds up fast. Had I not screwed it up and picked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to cover a three-point spread (the Miami Dolphins scored a TD with 34 seconds left in the 4th — the Bucs would eventually win…by two), we’re that much closer to 5-2. Not to mention, none of us really bet on the NFL preseason.
Strike while the iron is hot, and don’t miss out on any of our regular season picks by signing up for full access.
Without further ado, here are the staff picks for preseason week 3:
Ryan Gosling, Public Money Trends Analyst
“Oakland +3. Jon Gruden loves to win in the preseason. The line is moving in favor of the Green Bay Packers because the public thinks Rodgers will play. Like last week proved, Rodgers hates preseason. He is on record saying it is useless. He will complain about soreness and likely not play a snap. Gruden and the Oakland Raiders, on the other hand, will play all of his starters. Take the field goal and do so before they announce Rodgers as out!”
James Aguirre, Volatility Expert
Jim Roberge, Chief Editor of PFN Gambling
Jason Sarney, Player Props Analyst
Aaron Sutton, PFN COO
“I’m taking Cincinnati Bengals -1.5. The NFL odds moved 1.5 points in Cincinnati’s favor (-3) despite public bets being almost an even 50/50. The money wagered on Cincinnati is 3:1, and both trends suggest sharp money.
The New York Giants played at home against a Chicago Bears team that primarily played back-ups the entire game last week — they travel for the first time this preseason. Cincinnati battled back from an early pick 6 to defeat the Washington Redskins on the road. I like the gritty home team in this situation.”
Ben Rolfe, Totals Expert
“I’ll go Redskins/Falcons under 41.5. Both of these offensive lines are not good and I don’t see that improving for this one. The Falcons likely won’t use Julio Jones or Devonta Freeman and if the offensive line looks bad, Matt Ryan won’t play long either. The Redskins don’t really have starters on offense, so it being week three won’t matter for them. This could be a defense-dominated day.”
Chris Smith, PFN’s Handicapping Specialist
“Texans pick ’em. The Texans have better QB depth and are averaging 20 more ppg than Dallas through the first two preseason games. The line opened at Dallas -2.5.”