Week 1 of the NFL preseason is in the books, and Week 2 is on tap now! Last week we had some higher-than-normal scores and saw more starters play than we are used to. Will that be the case again in Week? Let’s dive in and take a look at this week’s 2025 NFL preseason Week 2 preview and best bets.
The action kicks off Friday evening this week with the Tennessee Titans facing the Atlanta Falcons. It’ll be followed up by a Chiefs and Seahawks showdown. Saturday will once again be the bulk of the NFL preseason games this week. Sunday, we get a double header of Jaguars vs Saints at 1:00 p.m. ET, followed by an 8:00 p.m. ET Bill and Bears showdown. We’ll wrap up another weekend of football with a Monday Night Football preseason game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders.
2025 NFL Preseason: Week 2 Preview and Best Bets
Miami Dolphins -2.5 (-105) Over Detroit Lions
All the talk from Wednesday was about how the Detroit Lions have been dominating the Miami Dolphins in their joint practice sessions. Thursday seemed to be a little better based on reports, but this is a great spot for the Dolphins to turn that narrative around and put a W in the preseason win column. Last week, Tua Tagovailoa attempted just six passes, Zach Wilson nine, and rookie Quinn Ewers played a majority of the game. Ewers did not look good. He went 5-19 passing, for just 91 yards, and was sacked twice. He looked, well, uncomfortable. This will be his chance to redeem himself against one of the better teams in the league, and I am a believer in Ewers. Last week, despite looking as horrible as he did, the team still came away with a tie against the Bears. I think we will see him flip the script and shine this week.
The Lions, on the other hand, just don’t have a ton to play for this preseason. They are an elite team and know it. It’s just fine-tuning some details and the roster at this point. It’s shown in both games with a Chargers drubbing in the Hall of Fame Game and just squeaking out a win last week against the Falcons. Luckily for our bets last week, they pulled it out. But everything about this one points to Miami, so give me the Dolphins.
Baltimore Ravens -1.5 (-110) Over Dallas Cowboys
The first rule when we begin work at SGPN is to fade the Cowboys at all measures. So this one will keep the bosses happy. But that’s not the only reason to go against the Cowboys this week. The main reason is John Harbaugh. Harbaugh is the greatest ever when it comes to covering the spread in the preseason and just winning in the preseason in general. Harbaugh boasts a 41-21 record against the spread and 45-17 overall. Nobody takes the preseason more seriously than Harbaugh. In last week’s article, I tried to get cute and go against the great one, and it didn’t go well. They jumped up on the Colts early and held on the rest of the game.
It didn’t matter that Devin Leary and Cooper Rush were the quarterbacks they rolled out against the Indianapolis starters; they still got it done like Harbaugh and Baltimore always does. This week, they’ll face flashy backup Joe Milton III starting for Dallas, as both teams have announced their stars will not play in this one. Bet some Milton props if you want (I will!), but I’m not betting against Harbaugh and the Ravens backups who should be better than the Cowboys backups.
Washington Commanders +5.5 (-105) Over Cincinnati Bengals
This line is insane. The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t won a preseason game since August 27th, 2022. They’ve lost five in a row and are 0-6-1 in their last seven. Zac Taylor is both 3-13 overall as a head coach in the preseason and also 3-13 ATS. Last week, they brought out their starters and drove down the field looking like the best offense in the league that they’ll probably have this season. Tanner McKee got it done for the Eagles without any of their offense stars playing. He tossed for 252 yards and two touchdowns in an Eagles victory.
Dan Quinn isn’t a ton better than Taylor in the preseason, to be transparent. He’s 7-18 overall and 7-17-1 ATS. The Commanders also got whooped up on by the Patriots week 48-18. However, a team like the Bengals should simply never be favored in the preseason and certainly not by almost six points. Journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson looked good last week and shouldn’t have a problem picking apart this Bengals defense.
