The Washington Redskins look a lot different in NFL preseason betting than they did a year ago. With a new head coach in Mike Shanahan and a new quarterback in Donovan McNabb, the Redskins are a team to take seriously in NFL preseason odds. They opened up with a 42-17 rout of the Buffalo Bills on Friday.NFL preseason betting favored the Redskins over the Bills and for good reason. The Redskins were very impressive as McNabb went 5 for 8 for 58 yards in two series with a TD pass. Washington dominated a Buffalo team that could end up being the worst team in the league in 2010. The Bills have a new head coach in Chan Gailey but they still have a lot of problems on both sides of the ball. The Bills suffered a major injury in the game as Fred Jackson hurt his hand. He will be out for the rest of the preseason. The Bills other key runner, Marshawn Lynch was also injured.
The Redskins looked very good on offense as their first string was very impressive. Running back Clinton Portis had six carries for 22 yards and tight end Chris Cooley caught three passes for 33 yards. The Redskins also looked good on defense. Albert Haynesworth got some playing time with the second string and played well. Shanahan has had Haynesworth playing with the second string until he gets back into playing shape. He looked pretty good in the preseason opener and it should not be long before he is starting again. The Redskins have a new defensive coordinator this season in Jim Haslett and the early results were encouraging.
The Redskins didn’t have much difficulty covering the NFL preseason odds against a Buffalo team that was missing 13 players due to injury. The Bills were unprepared against the Redskins and it showed as they committed a number of penalties and made bad mistakes. Quarterback Trent Edwards was 6 of 12 for 58 yards with an interception. Backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick did throw a TD pass late in the third quarter. Rookie C.J. Spiller had three carries for 14 yards.
The 42 points scored by Washington was the most they have scored in a preseason game since 1988.