The Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens resume their preseason rivalry as they meet on Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Since it is the preseason opener for both teams, the starters are not expected to play long. Baltimore is a three point NFL betting favorite with a total of 31.5.
For the Redskins, this is the first of four preseason games against the AFC. Last season Washington was 3-2 in the preseason as they had an extra game as they defeated Indianapolis in the Hall of Fame game. Last season the Redskins were 1-3 during the regular season against the AFC North. Washington has met Baltimore a total of four times in the preseason and the teams have split those four games. The only time they previously played at Baltimore in the preseason was in 2005 and the Ravens won in overtime by a score of 26-20. In the regular season, the teams have met four times with the Ravens holding a 3-1 series lead. Last season the Ravens won at home 24-10 in early December against the Redskins.
When you bet on football in the preseason there is one big key and that is quarterback rotations. If one team has two or three quality quarterbacks against a team that has only one, then you want to take the team that has more good quarterbacks in NFL betting. In this game the Ravens have a very good starter in Joe Flacco but after he leaves the game they have some questions. Troy Smith is the backup with John Beck the third string quarterback.
Washington has Jason Campbell as the starter and he is not as good as Flacco but the Redskins have the edge in this NFL betting preseason game with their backups. They have three quarterbacks who might all be better than Troy Smith. Todd Collins is a veteran backup and he is competing with Colt Brennan and rookie Chase Daniel. In reality it is Collins and Brennan competing for the backup job. If Collins wins it then Brennan would be the third string quarterback. If Brennan wins the job then the Redskins would probably cut Collins and Daniel would get the third string job.
The Baltimore Ravens may be the favorite in NFL betting but the Washington Redskins have some edges and could be the choice in this game on Thursday.