The Baltimore Ravens ride a 14-game exhibition winning streak into a battle with the Packers Thursday night in Crab City. So it would seem Coach Harbaugh takes these games rather seriously. How are we betting this one with our free NFL pick?
NFL Betting Odds
Week 2’s NFL exhibition betting odds opened Baltimore at -3.5 over Green Bay, with an over/under of 40. Early betting action then pushed the Ravens to -5 and dropped the total to 38.5.
Packers vs. Ravens Set-Up
Green Bay opened this exhibition season, its first under new Coach LaFleur, with a 28-26 victory over Houston last Thursday. The Packers began the scoring with a special-teams touchdown in the first quarter, pushed their lead to 28-10 in the third quarter, then held on from there. They also squeaked out the cover as one-point favorites.
On the night Green Bay actually got out-gained by the Texans 412-237 and lost time of possession by a 32/28 split. But the Packers won the turnover battle 4-1, basically resulting in a plus-14 point differential.
Back-up quarterbacks DeShone Kizer and Tim Boyle combined to go 11/18 for 142 yards and three touchdowns, against zero interceptions, as Aaron Rodgers watched from the sidelines.
Rodgers might play a series or two Thursday night, but it seems likely Kizer and Boyle will continue their battle for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart.
Baltimore, meanwhile, opened its exhibition season with a 29-0 victory over Jacksonville last Thursday. Starting QB Lamar Jackson directed the Ravens to 10 first-quarter points on three drives, then sat the rest of the night. Baltimore then pulled away from there and covered easily as a favorite of 3.5 points.
On the night the Ravens out-gained the Jaguars 288-112, out-rushed Jacksonville 125-68, won first downs 18-8 and won the turnover battle 2-1. Also, back-up quarterbacks Trace McSorley and Joe Callahan – a former Packer -combined to hit on 12/26 throws for 115 yards and one pick.
Jackson might well play a full quarter again Thursday night, and that would probably be worth at least seven points, against a Green Bay defense that gave up over 400 yards to a Houston offense led by Joe Webb last week.
These teams met most recently back in November of 2017, a 23-0 Ravens victory at Lambeau Field. Joe Flacco quarterbacked Baltimore that day, while Brett Hundley played in place of an injured Rodgers.
NFL Betting Trends
- Underdogs on the NFL betting lines won seven of 16 games outright last week.
- The Ravens, as mentioned above, are 14-0 SU, 12-2 ATS over their last three-plus exhibition seasons under Coach Harbaugh.
Totals Report
- Green Bay’s victory over Houston last week played over a total of 36.
- Baltimore’s victory over Jacksonville played under a total of 31.
- Overs played 9-7-1 in Week 1 (plus the Hall of Fame game) of this exhibition season, as the games averaged 41 points against an average over/under of 36. The average O/U on this week’s games sits at right around 42.
- Get more details: Packers vs Ravens NFL Match-up Stats
