The New Orleans Saints open up their preseason schedule at home as they host the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday. The Saints have a very strong quarterback rotation and could be a good team to follow in the preseason. They are a three-point favorite at home in NFL betting in this Friday night matchup with a total of 37.The Saints are expected to play their starters about a quarter although backup quarterback Mark Brunell could relieve Drew Brees late in the first quarter. Brunell is expected to get a lot of work in this game as he should play into the third quarter. Third-string quarterback Joey Harrington should get the rest of the playing time.
The Bengals have Carson Palmer as their starting quarterback while J.T. O’Sullivan and Jordan Palmer are the backups. The Bengals are coming off a very poor 4-11-1 season but they look vastly improved although it may not show in this Friday night football betting matchup. Head coach Marvin Lewis has said he doesn’t want to reveal too much and just wants to look at some younger players. Quarterback Carson Palmer has been injury prone in the past so he won’t get much time in this game. In fact, the Bengals entire team has been susceptible to injury so don’t look for the starters to play very long. Cincinnati could be a team to watch in regular season NFL betting though. They do seem improved from last season. “This is a remade team,” Lewis says. “I believe we are upgraded at nearly every position, and we know who our leaders are. We start from scratch, knowing we’ve found some players who are going to be able to help us.”
Last year the Saints led the NFL in scoring during the regular season, averaging 28.9 points per game. Drew Brees led the league in passing yards as NFL betting statistics tell us and tied for the lead in touchdown passes with 34.
The Saints have owned the Bengals in the preseason, winning six of the seven all-time matchups. They are 2-0 in games played in New Orleans. The Saints have won the last six preseason meetings between the two teams including 13-0 in NFL betting at Cincinnati last season. The only time the Bengals defeated the Saints in the preseason came back in 1975. The teams have not met in the preseason in New Orleans since 1989.