Pre-Season NFL Odds & Lines: Thursday Winners in Week 3

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We are in the final week of the preseason and so far, knock on wood, no team has lost a starting quarterback to injury. Some will play in the preseason finale and some won’t. Here are our NFL picks for Thursday’s two games.

Thursday Winners: Top Games to Bet in Pre-Season Week 3 | NFL Lines by MyBookie

NFL Preseason: August 2, 2023 – August 27, 2023

Pittsburgh at Atlanta

NFL Odds: Pittsburgh at Atlanta (+4.5)
When: Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 7:30 PM ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
TV / Streaming: NFL NET

Both teams know their Week 1 starting quarterbacks and both are in their second year: Kenny Pickett for Pittsburgh and Desmond Ridder for Atlanta.

The Steelers are 2-0 in the preseason following a 27-15 home win over Buffalo this past Saturday. Pickett and the first team offense opened up with a six-play, 86-yard scoring drive, capped off with a 62-yard Jaylen Warren rushing touchdown — the Steelers’ first rushing touchdown of at least 60 yards since 2016. The Steelers scored just one offensive touchdown longer than 25 yards last season. They’ve produced four of them through two exhibition games. Pickett has played three series so far in the preseason. Each series has ended with Pittsburgh reaching the end zone, with all three touchdowns coming from at least 25 yards out.

The Steelers won six of their last seven games and seven of the last nine last season and it seems like the momentum has carried over. The players are seeing what offensive coordinator Matt Canada‘s vision is as he enters his third season in the role, and they are picking up the same vision and approach they had the second half of last year.

“We saw that last year after the bye week,” said center Mason Cole. “There is no question about what we are doing, and why we are doing it. It just comes down to execution.”

Atlanta is 1-0-1 following a 13-13 tie against Cincinnati last Friday. After sitting the starters in an opening 19-3 victory at Miami, the Falcons went with the No. 1s for their opening possession. That included their last three first-round picks: tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson. Ridder looked sharp on his lone drive, completing 7 of 9 passes, and though the drive ended in an interception, it was a tipped-ball pick by Joseph Ossai. The biggest concern was four penalties from the first offensive unit, including two holding calls on guard Chris Lindstrom, who had one penalty combined in his first four NFL seasons.

Matt Hennessy was on schedule to be the starting left guard come Week 1 of the season, but a knee injury in the first week of training camp accelerated Matthew Bergeron’s development. Hennessy is now on injured reserve, and the starting left guard spot is Bergeron’s for the taking.

Pitts wants to win this one: “Finish it off right. Come together as a team, get the last win and then be ready for Sept. 10.”

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Indianapolis at Philadelphia

NFL Odds: Indianapolis at Philadelphia (-3)
When: Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
TV / Streaming: Prime Video

The Colts are 1-1 in the preseason following a 24-17 home win over the Bears on Saturday. Indy rested most of its starters, including rookie No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson, who has been named the Week 1 guy. Not clear if he will go this week. Sam Ehlinger was 9-of-14 passing for 124 yards and had eight carries for 60 yards, including a five-yard touchdown, in the win over Chicago and should play the most here.

Despite nominally being in the starting quarterback competition to begin training camp, Ehlinger appears locked into the No. 3 quarterback role with Richardson named the Week 1 starter and Gardner Minshew set as the backup.

Star running back Jonathan Taylor has been given permission to seek a trade. Just because Taylor and his representation are able to look for a trade partner who would give him a new deal doesn’t mean he’s going to find one. The Chargers similarly gave Austin Ekeler permission to seek a trade earlier in the offseason but nothing materialized on the market. Ekeler ended up signing a deal with increased incentives with Los Angeles for 2023.

Taylor is expected to return and travel with the team to Philadelphia following his second excused absence from training camp (this due to a personal matter), but he remains on the PUP list as he continues his rehab from offseason ankle surgery.

Philadelphia (0-1-1-) tied the Browns last Thursday, 18-18. Linebacker Nakobe Dean was one of the only projected starters to see action for Philadelphia, Dean generated a turnover near the Eagles’ goal line when he shot into the backfield and hit running back John Kelly Jr., knocking the ball loose. Safety K’Von Wallace recovered it for a Philly takeaway. The Eagles face uncertainty at linebacker after the departures of starters T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White in free agency.

Another linebacker, Myles Jack, has retired. He signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia on Aug. 6 and received first-team reps on his first day of practice, but had a relatively quiet training camp and had fallen down the depth chart in recent days. In two preseason games with the Eagles, Jack recorded five tackles in 52 defensive snaps, adding another four snaps on special teams. QB Jalen Hurts hasn’t played in the preseason and isn’t expected to.

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