We're talkin' about the . The . Fortunately this is the last time we will be doing so, as Saturday marks the penultimate day of the schedule. Sunday is the finale, on which there are only two games – so this is our final parlay of…yes…the . After this, we will be focused on the real thing – the 18-week battle for the NFL playoffs and ultimately for a Super Bowl appearance and the Lombardi Trophy. That all begins on September 8 with Thursday Night Football between the Buffalo Bills and defending champion Los Angeles Rams.
But for now, here is a look at the three components of Saturday's parlay.
For this play we are going one underdog on the money line, one underdog against the spread and an under. Let's break down each of the three legs one by one.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Atlanta Falcons Under 37 (-110)
A Falcons-Jaguars bet was part of Calvin Ridley's infamous parlay during Week 12 of last season. It's safe to say that a preseason rematch won't garner as much betting attention – not from Ridley and not from anyone else. That being said, I do like a play on this game: the under. Jacksonville has been hopeless on offense through three preseason appearances (already three because it played in the Hall of Fame Game against Las Vegas). Head coach Doug Pederson's squad lost to the Raiders 27-11 and then fell 24-13 to the Browns and 16-15 to the Steelers. The two most recent results were even with Trevor Lawrence getting some playing time, which won't be the case against Atlanta. Speaking of the Falcons, they played both Marcos Mariota and Desmond Ridder in the first two games and there really isn't anything else head coach Arthur Smith needs to see. Mariota is the starter and Ridder, who has looked great through two weeks, is clearly a more than capable backup. Smith was content to put former QB (now TE) Feleipe Franks at quarterback in the second half against the Jets on Monday night and the Falcons promptly scored zero points after halftime. Franks will likely be back in there for a while on Saturday. Playing on only four days of rest, the Falcons aren't going to do anything stupid with their starters.