The first NFL Preseason action begins on July 31, with the HOF Game. The 2025 edition of the league’s first exhibition outing will feature the Chargers vs. Lions.

One week later, the rest of the NFL teams will hit the gridiron for their preseason games. Keep in mind, the NFL Preseason can be a fickle creature when it comes to NFL betting. It’s a long way to the Super Bowl, and every team approaches the preseason differently.

In fact, it’s a long month between the opening preseason slate and Week 1. For bettors, it’s all about finding value on the boards during these NFL exhibition games. And, to do that in Preseason Week 1, you must already have a good feel for each team’s roster, depth, role players and plan of action.

NFL Preseason Week 1 Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Road Team	Home Team
Thursday, Aug. 7	7:00 PM	Indianapolis Colts	Baltimore Ravens
Thursday, Aug. 7	7:30 PM	Cincinnati Bengals	Cincinnati Bengals
Thursday, Aug. 7	10:00 PM	Las Vegas Raiders	Seattle Seahawks
Friday, Aug. 8	7:00 PM	Cleveland Browns	Carolina Panthers
Friday, Aug. 8	7:00 PM	Detroit Lions	Atlanta Falcons
Friday, Aug. 8	7:30 PM	Washington Commanders	New England Patriots
Saturday, Aug. 9	1:00 PM	New York Giants	Buffalo Bills
Saturday, Aug. 9	4:00 PM	Houston Texans	Minnesota Vikings
Saturday, Aug. 9	7:00 PM	Dallas Cowboys	Los Angeles Rams
Saturday, Aug. 9	7:00 PM	Pittsburgh Steelers	Jacksonville Jaguars
Saturday, Aug. 9	7:30 PM	Tennessee Titans	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Saturday, Aug. 9	8:00 PM	Kansas City Chiefs	Arizona Cardinals
Saturday, Aug. 9	8:00 PM	New York Jets	Green Bay Packers
Saturday, Aug. 9	8:30 PM	Denver Broncos	San Francisco 49ers
Sunday, Aug. 10	1:00 PM	Miami Dolphins	Chicago Bears
Sunday, Aug. 10	4:05 PM	New Orleans Saints	Los Angeles Chargers

NFL Preseason Week 1 Odds

The NFL odds for Preseason Week 1 have not been released as of this writing. Make sure to check back throughout the summer in order to get our early picks once the top sports betting sites release the lines.

Once the odds are available, we’ll provide our in-depth analysis on the matchups of the week, top Underdogs, latest trends and more.

Additionally, keep an eye out for NFL Preseason Week 1 picks from the best handicappers around. Try out the handicapping membership for free and gain access to elite NFL picks.

NFL Preseason Week 1 Predictions

Check back throughout the summer for our updated NFL picks for each Preseason Week 1 matchup. As of now, the following is a list of Preseason Week 1 games are the games that we’re looking forward to for NFL handicapping purposes and a little bit of pigskin soap opera:

Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens

Here we have the “Battle of Baltimore” as it’s the old Baltimore team versus the second incarnation, who was the old Cleveland Browns if you are keeping score.

What makes this game one to watch is that we need to see who will be the starting QB for The Indianapolis Colts. Richardson and Jones are fighting for the no.1 QB spot and the former is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury. That puts an average Jones in the driver’s seat as of now.

The Colts have plenty of talent in supporting roles on offense, they just need someone who can consistently get those players the ball.

As for the Ravens, it’s all about backups in this game. However, don’t forget Baltimore’s commitment to winning Preseason games. They won 24 in a row from 2016 to 2023, before that streak was snapped.

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Seattle Seahawks

You have to like a good drama, and this is one of the biggest events of the opening week of preseason action.

Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll will return to his old stomping grounds with his new team the Las Vegas Raiders. Furthermore, former Seattle starting QB Geno Smith, who was traded this offseason to the Raiders, will also return to his old stadium.

Rookie sensation Ashton Jeanty should get his first preseason snaps in this matchup. So, it will be great to see how the electric running back looks behind a shaky Raiders offensive line.

For Seattle, I’m more interested in seeing how the crowd responds to Carroll and Smith. I doubt we see Smith’s replacement Sam Darnold get any action.

Cleveland Browns vs. Carolina Panthers

Speaking of drama, is there a bigger soap opera in the NFL right now, than Cleveland’s QB room? From Watson to Flacco and two rookies, oh and don’t forget the trade for Kenny Pickett, this position is poised to fail on an epic scale.

On the other side of the ball, Bryce Young is said to have looked good in the offseason so far. There’s some buzz growing in Carolina over the potential for the Panther’s offense. Let’s hope we see some of this potential in Preseason Week 1.

Houston Texans vs. Minnesota Vikings

This game is all about whether or not JJ McCarthy starts for the Minnesota Vikings or if the franchise takes a different route considering McCarthy was lost for the season after playing in the 2024 NFL Preseason.

For Houston, it’s all about the backfield of Joe Mixon and Nick Chubb. Unfortunately, we probably won’t see either of them play until Week 3.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Will Aaron Rodgers play in Week 1 of the NFL Preseason? That’s the question everyone will be asking as we approach August.

I highly doubt the 40-something will play much in the preseason. If he does, it will be in Week 3 as the Steelers look to give more of their depth players on both sides of the ball plenty of snaps for evaluation purposes.

For the Jaguars, it’s all about the chemistry between Trevor Lawrence and his receivers Thomas and Hunter. It will be interesting to see if Hunter gets snaps on both sides of the ball in this matchup.

Tennessee Titans vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This game is all about how many snaps no.1 overall pick Cam Ward gets. Will the Tennessee Titans ease him into the preseason or will they give him as many snaps as possible?

For a team that’s not expected to contend this year, I would think that the Titans take it easy with him in preseason as they don’t want a McCarthy incident on their hands. Because then, they will be back to Will Levis.

I doubt we see any of Tampa Bay’s top players this week. So, as you are watching for Ward, keep an eye out for the talent level of Tampa’s backups and rookies.

New York Jets vs. Green Bay Packers

The Aaron Glenn era officially begins this week. So, does Justin Fields best shot at being a starting QB in the NFL. If he fails this season, I believe that the former Ohio State QB will be relegated to journeyman backup.

It will be interesting to see if Fields even plays this week. I’m also curious to see how the Jets’ talented defensive playmakers look in a new system.

As for the Green Bay Packers, we’re pretty much assured to see all of their backups in this game.

New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers will play in their second game of the preseason. So, don’t expect any of their starters to play more than a series, if at all.

For me, and others, this game is all about the New Orleans Saints. Kellen Moore took over as head coach in the offseason and immediately lost his starting QB Derek Carr to retirement due to an injury.

So, we’ll be watching to see which young quarterback gets the start, plays the best, and takes a big step towards earning the starting quarterback spot in the regular season.

NFL Preseason Week 1 Best Bets

Once the lines are available, and we breakdown each matchup of the week, you can scroll down to this section and find our best bets for Preseason Week 1.

Additionally, you can also take these picks and roll them into an NFL parlay, which we’ll lay out how much money you could win if you choose to place a Preseason Week 1 parlay.