The two Los Angeles teams close out their preseasons against each other ...

We're probably not going to see the Titans as favorites often in 2026 ...

The Bills have a tough matchup to open the season ...

The Texans appear set to rest their starters in this matchup, just like they did last week when we took this same number on the Under. That one ended 27-7, making it 11 out of 11 preseason games where DeMeco Ryans' team has scored 38 or fewer points. The Raiders struggled in joint practice this week and the offense didn't look good against a questionable Cardinals defense last week aside from the first drive with Kirk Cousins. We don't know if he's playing, but if he does it won't be for long. I'm not sure where the five TDs this probably needs to go over will come from.

The Giants starters are expected to see some time in this game, and the Vikings have an experienced group of QBs. That being said, this is a huge total for a preseason game. The highest scoring game of the weekend so far has had 41 points, and I don't know what makes this one special. In fact, with Brian Flores as the DC on one side, I would expect scoring to be a bit curbed. It makes sense to fade most preseason totals this high, so I'll do it and hope for stops.

This total has dropped with questions around the Bucs offense, but I don't think it's fallen far enough. I want no part of laying the 6.5 with the Jets, as we saw with the Lions-Bengals game how those types of health absences don't necessarily mean blowout. I like this total as I don't have a lot of faith in most of the QBs in this game, and I expect both defensive units will do well limiting touchdowns. I think this game maxes out at 34 points.

DeMeco Ryans is entering his fourth season in Houston with 10 preseason games under his belt. As his defense has grown from terrible to good to elite, Houston hasn't been involved in a preseason game with more than 38 points, with the average result sitting at 31.7 points. Even with the Chargers coming off a high-scoring preseason in 2025, I like that trend to continue here with the depth of the Houston defense and the change in offensive coordinator for L.A.

Football is finally back ... sort of. The Hall of Fame Game brings Mike LaFleur's head coaching debut for Arizona, and he's up against a guy who has not treated preseason games as important in his two years in Carolina. The Panthers scored two TDs and 23 total points in three preseason games last year, and UDFA Haynes King will see most of the action here. Even though he's generated buzz, I'll take the pairing of Carson Beck (a more talented rookie) and Kedon Slovis, who has done well in preseason work in the past. We might get an additional edge with LaFleur pressing for a win here on national TV in his debut knowing the uphill struggle he'll face once the season starts.

The sportsbooks have taken a ton of money on the Seahawks throughout the last two weeks, yet the line hasn't budged. Maybe they're confident in a Patriots cover at this number? Underdogs of 3.5 or more are 11-2 ATS in the Super Bowl over the last 25 years with more outright wins than losses, and the Patriots have a path to victory with how well the defense is playing plus the better quarterback and maybe better coach in the game (remember that Mike Vrabel knows the demands of a Super Bowl Sunday well while this is Mike Macdonald's first exposure to it). Feel free to try and wait for a 5 on gameday, but I'm perfectly fine with the 4.5 at -105 or better.

The Patriots aren't being given much of a chance in this game, but I see their defense as being good enough to limit Seattle's scoring and give Drake Maye a chance at the win. I expect scoring to be tough in the first half after the long lead-up to kickoff, with nerves at an all-time high in the first quarter. I believe there's only three points of difference between these teams on a neutral field, and while I wait to see the best number I can get on the Pats in the full game, I can't pass up the opportunity to grab the hook on the first-half line.

I expect this to be a slow-starting game for both offenses as they feel out two elite defenses, so much so that one prop from my 60 picks article is on the first touchdown to be scored in the second quarter. In that type of environment, I don't see three TDs being scored by these teams in the first half, so I'm willing to take this total all the way down to 20.5 and get plus odds on the Under.

We know that Drake Maye is going to use his legs to try and pick up first downs when needed, but no one is really talking about the other QB in the matchup. Darnold has had 3+ rush attempts in six of his last seven games, and with the Patriots getting creative at sending pressure during the playoffs, I believe it's likely he'll be on the move a couple times in this game, and he'll certainly not hesitate to try and pick up a first down if he sees open field. We could also hit this by virtue of end-game kneeldowns if the Seahawks do what's expected and win this game. I like getting plus odds value on this prop.

The Patriots have endured a monster run of defenses to get to the Super Bowl, and waiting for them is the league's No. 1 scoring defense. The last opponent to get to 300 yards against Seattle besides the Rams was the Cardinals in Week 10, and the Seahawks have allowed two total touchdowns in six games against non-Rams opponents since Week 12. Drake Maye had one game with a sub 60% completion rate heading into the playoffs and has been below that number in all three games. The Seahawks should excel against the Patriots' offensive line and continue to keep Maye uncomfortable, and Sam Darnold is playing well enough to not expect the Pats offense to get short fields. I love getting this above 20.

This is obviously the biggest game of the year for both teams, and big games are where Hollins shows up the most. Much has been made about the Patriots' easy schedule, but when they played the Buccaneers, Ravens and in the second game against the Bills, Hollins recorded his three performances with at least eight targets this year. He also had seven against a tough Browns defense. Hollins returned from the IL in the AFC Championship to catch two passes for 51 yards in a game where Drake Maye threw for just 86 yards total. Hollins has outperformed Stefon Diggs in several key games this year and could do so again here.

The Seahawks offense didn't get tested much last week as Sam Darnold completed just 12 passes in a 35-point win. That shouldn't be the case in Rams-Seahawks, Part 3. The Seahawks' recent defensive dominance has led to depressed numbers for Smith-Njigba and dropped this line below where it should be. He reached 90+ yards in 13 of 15 games to open the season, seeing triple-digit lines during that stretch. The Rams allow 150.8 yards per game to WRs and Smith-Njigba should see the lion's share of that production en route to his first 90-yard game since the last Rams matchup. If the Seahawks defense doesn't shut down the league's top scoring offense completely, Smith-Njigba is going to get the volume needed to get over here.