NFL Preseason 2024 Week 1 Picks

We’ve finally made it to preseason games for every team in the NFL this week after the appetizer that was the Hall of Fame game last week between the Texans and Bears that was ultimately called due to weather. Every team will play this week and into the weekend, starting on Thursday evening and ending on Sunday afternoon with the Cowboys vs Rams. Let’s dive into the NFL Preseason Week 1 picks:

NFL Preseason Week 1 Picks:

Detroit Lions vs New York Giants: New York Giants -3.5 (-108)

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Kansas City Chiefs: Jacksonville Jaguars -1 (-112)

Dallas Cowboys vs Los Angeles Rams - Game Total Over 35 (-112)

Detroit Lions vs New York Giants best bet: New York Giants -3.5 (-108)

With Jared Goff unlikely to play and, in Daniel Jones’ case, likely to play very sparingly, the New York Giants should come out firing with Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito likely to get the bulk of snaps under center. Lock has never been shy about airing the ball out, and that should lead to quicker drives and scores. DeVito has proved at the very least last season he’s an NFL-caliber quarterback. The Lions have made it clear that they’re playing for the regular season and will play Hendon Hooker and Nate Sudfeld a ton.

Taking the New York Giants -3.5 (-108) is the right move here, as the Giants should put some points on the board and win by more than a field goal.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Kansas City Chiefs best bet: Jacksonville Jaguars -1 (-112)

The Jaguars and head coach Doug Pederson have come out and said that the starting units will play at least one series. That means we’ll see Trevor Lawrence play against some of the Chiefs’ backup defensive units, which is a net positive if we play the Jaguars’ side of things. Behind Lawrence, Jacksonville has solid backup options in former Patriot Mac Jones and C.J. Beathard. This quarterback group has a clear edge over the Chiefs’ backup options behind Patrick Mahomes in journeyman Carson Wentz and former Saint Ian Book.

While the Chiefs have the edge in terms of starting talent, the Jaguars have a clear edge in depth down their positional group. Because of that, we like taking the Jacksonville Jaguars -1 (-112) for tonight’s preseason contest.

Dallas Cowboys vs Los Angeles Rams best bet: Game Total Over 35 (-112)

Sunday night’s game should be a pretty fun game where we’ll have increased scoring because of who we have after starters Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford, who are both unlikely to play in this contest. For Dallas, longtime backup Cooper Rush and former first-round pick Trey Lance will get the majority of the workload for the Cowboys.

Rush is a very competent backup quarterback, and Lance has the tools but just needs to get some more experience, as injuries have sapped his opportunities over the last couple of seasons. Behind Stafford are Stetson Bennett and Dresser Winn, who, after a Google, is indeed the name of a real-life NFL quarterback. We’re very likely to get a lot of Stetson Bennett and rookie running back Blake Corum, which could up the points on the Rams’ side.

With solid offensive components on each side of the equation, we like the Game Total Over 35 (-112) prop for Sunday afternoon’s game.