NFL Preseason Week 3 Betting Picks: Best Bets Friday Night, Aug. 23

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Other than weather raining on our preseason betting parade in Philadelphia, NFL preseason Week 3 picks for Thursday night went exactly as planned. We did cash in on the Giants +3, Redskins -3, and hopefully, you kept up with news and jumped on the Patriots once Tom Brady was named the starter. We’ll try to keep the hot streak going with two games scheduled for Friday night.

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Week 3 of the preseason will be the closest thing we see to a regular-season environment before NFL Week 1 kicks off on Sept. 5. 

This is the week starters get most of their preseason reps, as Chris Gimino points in his Introduction to NFL Preseason DFS and Strategy:

Week 3: Starters play roughly 1/2 to almost 3/4 of the game for many teams.

Now let’s take a look at NFL preseason Week 3 betting picks for Friday.

Be sure to read more NFL preseason betting tips to find out why betting during the preseason differs from traditional NFL betting and how to take advantage of the house.

NFL Preseason Week 3 Betting Picks — Cleveland Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3, O/U 42.5

The Cleveland Browns are 2-0 after the first two weeks of the preseason. Baker Mayfield and the starting unit have only contributed one series to the wins, but head coach Freddie Kitchens has said Browns’ starters will play Friday night. Mayfield led Cleveland down the field for a touchdown in the opening series of the preseason. How much Mayfield & Co. will play Friday night remains unclear.

Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians also said Buccaneers’ starters would take the field, but that their time could be significantly shortened. The worse they play, the longer they’ll be on the field; the better they play, the shorter they’ll be out there. 

Though Kitchens was coy regarding his starting unit’s playing time, we can reasonably expect starters to take the field for a quarter to a half. On the other hand, Tampa Bay’s starters will only play that much if they aren’t playing well at all. I’m not quite as confident as I was with the Ravens, Giants or Redskins last night but given the information we have, Cleveland seems like the clear play in the first half. 

My Pick: Browns 1H Moneyline; Cleveland Browns -3 (use our FanDuel Sportsbook promo code to get these odds).

NFL Preseason Week 3 Betting Picks — Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions +2, O/U 42.

The Buffalo Bills won each of their first two preseason games by double digits. In both games, Josh Allen threw 11 passes. Despite significant reps already, Allen should get his shot at even more playing time tonight. Bills head coach Sean McDermott told the media that starters would play more than they did against the Carolina Panthers last week. Against Carolina, Bills’ starters played roughly a quarter and scored 10 points during their time on the field. 

Now that Tom Brady and Cam Newton have taken snaps, Detroit Lions quarterback Matt Stafford is one of 10 quarterbacks left still waiting for his first taste of preseason action. As a result, the Lions are 0-2 this preseason. Detroit head coach Matt Patricia has been much coyer regarding expectations for his starters Friday.

Don’t be surprised if the Lions add another loss tonight. I’m taking McDermott at his word and backing the Bills who have higher expectations for their starts. 

My Pick: Bills -2 (use our William Hill promo code to get these odds)

Image Credit: USA Today Sports Images

About the Author

schmitto
Matt Schmitto (schmitto)

Matt Schmitto is an Organic Strategy Lead for Better Collective. He was introduced to daily fantasy sports in 2012 and soon became a member at RotoGrinders. Seven years later, Schmitto joined RotoGrinders Network full time as a staff writer shortly after the Supreme Court overturned PASPA. He has since covered important stories in the sports betting and fantasy sports industries for sites like SportsHandle and USBets and has had roles as a sports betting editor and commercial content manager. He continues to play DFS and loves placing Futures bets at sportsbooks. His favorite DFS sites are DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, and PrizePicks. Follow Schmitto on Twitter – @Matt_Schmitto