The 2022 NFL preseason is here. For some pro football handicappers, the NFL preseason is a time to rejoice. For others, it’s a time to be fearful. It’s difficult to handicap and make money betting on NFL preseason games. To stay safe, we’ve come up with five things all NFL bettors should keep in mind.

Best Ways to Safely Handicap the 2022 NFL Preseason

And just like that the 2022 #NFL preseason has begun! ????

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— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) August 5, 2022

When in doubt, take the points

Home field doesn’t mean much during the preaseason. Not only that, but because of the extra week, the NFL now has a week 18, most coaches bench their starters for the entire preseason.

So if you don’t have a good feeling either way but you still want some action on the game, take the points. Don’t worry about the over-under total. Take the points on one of the teams and see if the strategy works out.

Don’t over emphasize home field advantage

It’s important to emphasize that during the NFL preseason, home field doesn’t mean much. Teams don’t care about home field, fans don’t show up in droves, and coaches will play starters depending on the work they believe their teams require.

That doesn’t mean home field won’t help a team. It does mean NFL handicappers should put less of an emphasis on home field advantage during the preseason than they would during the regular season.

Back teams with strong backup and third string quarterbacks

During the preseason, teams with strong backup quarterbacks and third string signal-callers often perform better than teams with mediocre backups. When handicapping NFL preseason games, look at third string quarterbacks before second string QBs. The Browns are a great example of why. Unless Cleveland makes a trade, they will start Jacoby Brissett at the beginning of the season because QB1 Deshaun Watson is suspended.

Cleveland won’t put Brissett in harm’s way, which means during the preseason, the Browns will start third-string QB Joshua Dobbs and, maybe, fourth-string Josh Rosen. If you think one of the Josh’s will outperform during the preseason, back the Browns.

Teams with good defenses often cover during the preaseason

Teams like the Saints, Broncos, Bills, and Cowboys win and cover the preseason because not only do they have great starters on defense, but they are also deep at key defensive positions.

NFL squads with excellent defenses always perform well during the preseason. Offenses don’t push as much as they can because the games don’t mean anything. So even second and third string defensive units overperform.

Often, teams with new head coaches are good plays in the preaseason

New head coaches must install new defensive and new offensive strategies, which requires head coaches to play starters more than their veteran peers. This preseason, coaches like Mike McDaniel in Miami, Matt Eberflus with the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, and Brian Daboll, the Giants’ new HC, must use the preseason to get their players up to speed.

So we should expect the Vikings, Bears, Dolphins, and Giants to play well this preseason. It doesn’t mean those four teams win and cover in all their preseason games. But NFL handicappers must take into account how important it is for all four coaches to get their teams ready for when the season starts.

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READ MORE: 2022 NFL Preseason Predictions for Every Team