If you like betting on NFL, you can’t wait for the regular season – and you don’t have to. The preseason offers plenty of football betting action, such as the week 3 match-up between the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, August 27th.
Lions +3 (+105) 43 (-110)
Ravens -3 (-125) 43 (-110)
The Lions beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in their preseason opener, but when it came time to host the Cincinnati Bengals at Ford Field on week 2, things didn’t go so smoothly. Wide receiver Marvin Jones, whom the Lions signed to a five-year, $40 million contract in March after he left the Bengals, had four catches for 65 yards against his former team, while QB Mathew Stafford went 8 of 11 for 113 yards. However, the Lions did not score a touchdown until the final minute of the game. The final score was Cincinnati 30-Detroit 14. The Baltimore Ravens, conversely, are 2-0 in the preseason so far, including a win over the Indianapolis Colts in week 2. The Ravens starting QB Joe Flacco did not play, but Ryan Mallet and Josh Johnson both threw touchdown passes, while fourth-tier QB Jerrod Johnson led the Ravens on a late drive for a field goal.
Fans who enjoy betting on NFL have not see the Lions take on the Ravens in quite a while. Their previous encounter took place in week 15 of the 2013 regular season on December 16th, at Ford Field. On that occasion, Baltimore reigned supreme 18-16. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh decided to allow placekicker Justin Tucker go for the longest kicks of his career, and it paid off – he made a franchise-record 61-yarder with 38 seconds left on the clock that made the difference in a game that had great playoff ramifications. Then-rookie Matt Elam put the final nail in the Lions’ coffin with Stafford’s third interception of that night. The Detroit QB threw a 14-yard TD pass to current free agent Joseph Fauria with 2:21 remaining, putting Detroit ahead 16-15. Nonetheless, the Lions couldn’t make a 2-point conversion, allowing Baltimore to set up Tucker for his 33rd successful straight field goal – a league record-breaking 64-yarder.
December has not been a kind month for the Lions facing the Ravens. On December 13th, 2009 Baltimore absolutely beat the ever-loving snot out of Detroit in a 48-3 blowout. The month of August, though, has treated the Lions better; the last – and first, and only – time that they have defeated the Ravens in regular season play was on August 17th, 2012 in a 27-12 victory. Does this mean anything to people who like betting on NFL? Yes? No? Last season, both teams finished third in their respective divisions and did not qualify to the postseason. The difference for the Ravens is that Joe Flacco is back in good health and, as tight end Crockett Gillmore told the Baltimore Sun when asked whether he saw a difference between pre- and post-injury Flacco, “he’s still elite.”
