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Edgar Chaput
Patriots vs. Commanders Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 3 Odds, Prediction
It’s more than a new year in Washington and Foxborough. Both the Commanders and Patriots are entering new eras with new play callers on the sidelines – Dan Quinn and Jerod Mayo – and newly minted quarterbacks in Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye.
Our NFL preseason odds believe that the Patriots will conclude their preseason with a win, pegging them at -6.5.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
It’s another intra-conference meeting in this final week of summer football. As such, past encounters between the Patriots and Commanders have been infrequent. That said, there was one last season which Washington won 20-17. It was also one of the worst seasons for the Patriots in recent memory. Before that New England had won four in a row, dating back to the 2007 campaign.
This will be New England’s only road game this preseason. They were at home twice already, once to the Carolina Panthers (a 17-3 win) and the Philadelphia Eagles (a 14-13 loss). Those straight up results directly translated to a 1-1 record against the spread.
Washington will be at home for the first time this August. They were away to the New York Jets a couple of weeks ago (a 20-17 defeat) and then to the Miami Dolphins (a 13-6 loss). The Commanders failed to cover the spread both times.
New England Patriots
With the Matthew Judon turmoil behind them (he signed with the Falcons last week), the Patriots and their new head coach can concentrate on turning the page on New England’s storied past.
One way of doing that was by having no fewer than four QBs suit up for last week’s battle with the Eagles at home. The club’s 2024 first round pick Drake Maye, veteran Jacoby Brissett, last year’s backup Bailey Zappe, and 2024 6th rounder Joe Milton III all took snaps. One would think Mayo and his staff hope Maye is not another Mac Jones (now in Jacksonville), so they gave him a few drives versus Philly. He went 6-for-11 for 47 yards, an average of 4.3 per pass. It looked a bit like last year’s offence at times, which isn’t a good thing, but these things can take time. Maye did run it himself for a 4-yard score in the second quarter at least.
RB Kevin Harris showed some pop, going off for 16 yards on a trio of touches. On the defensive side LB Raekwon McMillan had a strong outing with nine total tackles, including one for a loss. Truth be told, it was a good effort by the defence except, incidentally, a late game drive on which the Eagles not only scored but made a successful two-point conversion to steal a 14-13 win.
Washington Commanders
Speaking of turning the page, so have the Commanders. What story the new chapter tells remains to be seen. It will be written – in part, at least – by the franchise’s new starting QB Jayden Daniels.
The 2024 first round pick was given the keys to the car a few days ago. Word on the street was that this was always the plan, but Dan Quinn and his staff surely wanted to see some reps to be certain they weren’t making a foolhardy choice. Daniels wasn’t much of a fixture versus the Jets in Week 1, but against the Dolphins the LSU product was a clean 10-for-12 for 78 yards. He looks nimble too and was able to avoid pressure when the pocket collapsed. Funnily enough, two of the Commanders’ top rushers in this game were Daniels (13 yards) and fellow QB Jeff Driskel (45 yards).
Rookie wideout Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint got some action, hauling in two passes for 33 yards. Michael Wily, another first-year player, caught a trio for 31 yards.
Despite some good efforts, Washington was bested by Miami 13-6. Even so, the purpose here was to see what the rookie class was capable of.