It's here, the night you've all been waiting for: Thursday night of Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. And that means it's time for our NFL experts' NFL best bets for the preseason.
We have an NFL doubleheader to fully kick off the preseason slate tonight. The Panthers will start an undrafted rookie against the Patriots on NFL Network, while the Lions and Giants will face off at MetLife Stadium after an eventful week of joint practices.
Here are our NFL best bets with a pick against the spread for each game.
NFL Best Bets: Our Experts' Preseason NFL Picks for Thursday Night
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NFL Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
John LanFranca Makes His NFL Best Bet for Panthers vs Patriots: Take Carolina to Cover
This line has ballooned to a full touchdown since news broke that rookie Jack Plummer will start for the Panthers. Plummer will get an abundance of playing time, then be followed by fourth-year man Jake Luton.
The good news for both players is that the Panthers are trying to establish an identity under new head coach Dave Canales, who I believe will follow through on his promise to run the football incessantly.
The Panthers have the running backs to do it, even as you look further down the depth chart. I expect Raheem Blackshear, Mike Boone and Jaden Shirden to make quite the impact. Both Blackshear and Boone have flashed at the NFL level, while the undrafted Shirden has already drawn praise from running back coach Bernie Parmalee.
The point: Carolina has the personnel to establish the run, even when Chubba Hubbard and Miles Sanders are not on the field.
As for the Patriots, we may get a glimpse at starter Jacoby Brissett before he cedes snaps to rookies Drake Maye and Joe Milton. If one team is going to come out and put more on their quarterbacks' plates for the sake of getting the best chance to evaluate them, it's undoubtedly the Patriots. That may lead to mistakes, also known as growing pains, for Maye and Milton. In that case, I'll be more than happy to be backing the team catching a touchdown's worth of points.
With a total of only 33.5 points for this game, I'm even more incentivized to back the underdog.
I'd play the Panthers down to +6.5, which is what the line is at most sportsbooks as of Wednesday night.
Pick: Panthers +7 (-120)
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Sam Farley's NFL Best Bet for Preseason Week 1: Back the Giants — in the 1Q
By Sam Farley
If you've been anywhere near social media this week, you know that Lions-Giants practices may as well have been renamed the Malik Nabers Show. The No. 6 overall pick in this year's draft is the talk of Giants camp, and his hype train is in full motion. Nabers been the talk of practice with his speed and his hands, hauling in numerous touchdowns and catching nearly every ball thrown to him.
Not only that, but he still found time to throw hands with Lions safety Kerby Joseph.
Malik Nabers getting active #giantspic.twitter.com/HgVAi6y9fb
— TradeMark™ (@trademarkse) August 6, 2024
Sadly, it's preseason and we can't wager on player props. We don't know how much Nabers is going to play — if at all — against the Lions, but he'd have a great chance to feast on a Lions secondary that was the team's Achilles heel last season.
With that in mind, we'll back the Giants to start fast, regardless of whether it's Daniel Jones or backup Drew Lock under center.
Pick: Giants 1Q -0.5 (+124)
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