2025 NFL Preseason Week 2 Betting Preview: Odds and Best Bets

1. Cleveland Browns vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Eagles -5.5 (-115)

Football fans were eagerly anticipating seeing QB Shedeur Sanders’ encore act after he impressed in his preseason debut. However, Sanders has been ruled out with an oblique injury for the Week 2 preseason matchup against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Sanders took the majority of the snaps in a 30-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers last week. Veteran QB Tyler Huntley finished the game in the 4th quarter to cushion the Browns’ lead. With QB Joe Flacco unlikely to play, the Browns will lean heavily on Huntley and rookie QB Dillon Gabriel.

Note that Kenny Pickett isn’t expected to participate in this week’s matchup either. Pickett is on the mend with a hamstring injury, so that leaves the Browns thin at quarterback. With this in mind, expect the Eagles’ defense to have the advantage in this one.

QB Joe Burrow moved the ball easily last week, but the Eagles should have a comfortable game this time around.

Furthermore, the Eagles’ offense was in impressive form, with 34 points in the 34-27 victory. They were led by 25-year-old QB Tanner McKee. The sixth-round pick passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns on 20/25 passing.

The way Saquon Barkley looked at Tanner McKee 😲

McKee threw for 252 pass yards with 2 TD in the Eagles' preseason win 🎯 pic.twitter.com/axOqHRvleT

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 8, 2025

McKee will see the bulk of the work this week, which bodes well for the Eagles. I will gladly side with McKee over Gabriel and Huntley. Gabriel is reportedly coming off a poor effort in joint practice with the Eagles on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Huntley’s career is pretty well in the toilet at this point. He’s an emergency third-team quarterback at best.

After four quarters of play, the Eagles should win by a touchdown or more to cover the spread!

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Steelers +3 (-110)

On Saturday night, the Steelers welcome the Buccaneers to Acrisure Stadium for a Week 2 preseason matchup. The Steelers are home underdogs, but I see value in backing them at this generous price. This matchup looks more like a coin flip than the NFL preseason Week 2 odds suggest.

QB Mason Rudolph is back in “The Steel City” after playing for the organization from 2019 to 2023. One year in Tennessee was enough for Rudolph, as he made a quick return to Pittsburgh for the 2025 season. The quarterback has plenty of regular-season experience under Mike Tomlin’s offense.

Overall, Rudolph has passed for 4,615 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions in five seasons. He should immediately take control of this matchup and dice up the Buccaneers’ backups. Last week, Rudolph had a productive performance, with 84 yards passing and a touchdown on 9/10 passing.

Following Rudolph, former Kansas State QB Skylar Thompson was in top form. He rode a wave of confidence, with 223 yards and three touchdowns! The former Dolphin has looked like a different signal caller in training camp and should have another strong performance at home.

Skylar Thompson with a dart in between two defenders

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— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2025

Buccaneers’ QB Baker Mayfield didn’t play last week and is unlikely to see much playing time against the Steelers. That leaves QB Kyle Trask, Teddy Bridgewater, and Connor Bazelak as the available quarterbacks. Bridgewater was coaching high school football not too long ago before signing with the Bucs recently.

If he plays, don’t expect much traction or motivation. The final quarterback matchup is likely to be Bazelak and Thompson. Look for this to be a close battle, and I’ll gladly side with Thompson as a home underdog! Additionally, Tomlin is one of the best head coaches in the preseason, with a 37-27-1 ATS record.

In short, consider the Steelers for your best NFL preseason picks this week.

3. Buffalo Bills vs. Chicago Bears: Bills +2.5 (-110)

The Bears and Bills roll into Sunday night with a preseason matchup scheduled at Soldier Field. In the opening week, the Bills played to a disappointing 35-24 final against the New York Giants. They are in the midst of a tight quarterback competition for the backup role.

QB Mitchell Trubisky and Mitch White are in a head-to-head fight, while former Texas QB Shane Buechele had a solid performance a week ago. Trubisky is the most experienced and safest choice for the Bills. He was Josh Allen’s backup in 2021 and has 78 games of regular-season experience on his resume.

Trubisky, White, and Buechele combined for 331 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. There hasn’t been any room for error in the quarterback competition. White is especially in danger of falling out of favor if he slips up. In other words, motivation will continue to be high between the Bills’ quarterbacks.

Mitchell Trubisky escapes and goes sidearm 🔥

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Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/17xsQ7XUly

— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2025

The defense was abysmal in the loss to the Giants. Rookie QB Jaxson Dart diced up the Bills, but I expect a much stronger performance here. QB Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum are a solid 1-2 punch behind starting QB Caleb Williams. That said, I am not excited to lay points on the Bears against a motivated Bills’ offense.

Buffalo’s defense after their effort last week certainly appears like a red flag, but I foresee them stepping up. Motivation is the most important variable when it comes to the preseason, and I suspect they’ll have extra incentive to play better on Sunday night.

All things considered, the Bills are one of the best NFL Week 2 preseason picks!