NFL preseason Week 3 betting recap: Underdogs start off strong, but favorites rule the week

The final week of the NFL preseason began with underdogs exceeding expectations, but that theme didn’t last.

Both Thursday games saw underdogs prevail in the Chiefs and Texans to kick off the week, but the favorites ended up roaring back to finish the week with a 9-5 record against the spread as opposed to 5-9 for the dogs.

The only one favorite that won straight up but didn’t cover was the Ravens, as they won 17-15 as six-point favorites over the Commanders to extend their preseason winning streak to a record 23 games.

While the majority of the favorites covered with ease, the battle of the New York teams came down to the wire against the spread, as the Jets were able to narrowly cover the three-point spread with a touchdown in the closing seconds.

The Bears were one of the few successful underdogs, as they held off the Browns 21-20 as 4.5-point road dogs.

Point totals were fairly evenly distributed this week unless like the first two weeks in which the over reigned supreme in Week 1 and the under performed better last week, as this week saw nine contests go over and seven go under.

This was the final week of NFL preseason action, with the NFL regular season set to kick off on Thursday, Sept. 8 with the Bills and the Rams set to take the field at 7:20 p.m. on NBC.

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook