NFL preseason Week 3 odds, angles, best bets

The third week of the NFL preseason - when exhibition football doesn't feel quite so meaningless - is finally upon us. Starters will log the majority of first-half snaps for most teams, though games will still ultimately be decided by backups and head coaches' various tendencies.

We were profitable again last week, posting our second straight 2-1 record of the preseason. Here are our best bets for the all-important Week 3:

New York Giants at Cincinnati Bengals (-3), total: 42

Do you really want to bet against Daniel Jones? The ridiculed rookie QB has impressed in two straight performances for the Giants this preseason, most recently going 11-of-14 for 161 yards and a touchdown in last week's win over Chicago.

Yet bettors are fading the pick, with the Bengals moving from -1 to -3 since Monday's opening lines. That movement comes even with Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor saying his starters won't play the full first half.

Jones will have a golden opportunity to continue his torrid stretch against the Bengals' second-stringers. Grab the points.

Pick: Giants +3

New Orleans Saints (-3) at New York Jets, total: 42.5

Sean Payton does not mess around in Week 3 of the preseason. The Saints coach is 10-3 straight-up in the third week of exhibition play, the best mark among active coaches. Adam Gase, meanwhile, is 1-2 in his three seasons as a head coach.

The Jets will likely be without three starting linemen for most of Saturday's game, and star back Le'Veon Bell will probably sit, too. That puts the pressure on second-year quarterback Sam Darnold to match wits with the early drives of Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, and Co.

Darnold may be enjoying a breakout preseason, but Payton's prowess combined with the Saints' early-game advantage should be worth more than three points here.

Pick: Saints -3

Seattle Seahawks (-3) at Los Angeles Chargers, total: 41

This line opened at Los Angeles -1 on Monday, but questions about Philip Rivers' playing time and the rest of the Chargers' continued health woes flipped the number - and then some - by Wednesday.

Bettors are onto something here. Seattle coach Pete Carroll, a strong proponent of the value of exhibition games, is 6-3 in Week 3 of the preseason and 23-15 overall. Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, on the other hand, has limited his starters' reps so far and looks likely to do so again Saturday.

Los Angeles is already banged up, so running out backups from the first quarter onward means reaching a little too far down the depth chart for comfort. Trust Seattle's starters and Carroll's will in this one.

Pick: Seahawks -3