Ricky Dimon
The 2025 NFL regular season is only 2 weeks away. Just 1 more week of the preseason remains, and we might as well enjoy it even though the games are relatively meaningless. Heck, it’s football! And following a long offseason, we will take whatever we can get. All 32 teams will once again take the field, with 16 games spanning Thursday (2), Friday (4) and Saturday (10). Yes, we have 3 consecutive days of football! With that in mind, let’s get into my 3 NFL best bets for Week 3 of the 2025 preseason, while you can also check out our NFL picks for EVERY GAME this season.
NFL Preseason best bet: Pittsburgh Steelers vs Carolina Panthers Under 36.5 (-115)
Week 3 kicks off on Thursday night with a battle between the Steelers and host Panthers. Both teams played low-scoring affairs in Week 2. The Steelers lost to the Buccaneers 17-14 at home; the Panthers fell at Houston via a 20-3 decision. Points will probably be at a premium again in this one.
Pittsburgh’s starters have mostly been absent through 2 weeks and that is unlikely to change since Carolina head coach Dave Canales has already confirmed that his starters aren’t playing. Many of the Panthers’ top guys played in the first 2 games, so now it’s time to rest up for the regular season. Aaron Rodgers and Bryce Young surely won’t be active on Thursday. The Panthers scored a combined 13 points in their first 2 contests, during which backups Andy Dalton and Jack Plummer were mostly inept. They combined to throw 3 interceptions and zero touchdowns. Let’s go with the Under.
Read our full Steelers vs Panthers prediction
NFL Preseason prediction: New England Patriots vs New York Giants Over 38.5 (-105)
There seems to be no other choice than to roll with the Over when the Giants take the field in the preseason. All 4 of their quarterbacks have been balling, resulting in wins over Buffalo (34-25) and the Jets (31-12). Jaxson Dart, the #25 overall pick in this year’s draft, went 12-of-19 for 154 yards and a touchdown against the Bills. That was followed by a 14-of-16 effort against the Jets with 137 yards and a score. Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Tommy DeVito combined to go 23-of-32 for 163 yards, 2 TDs and no picks in the opener.
And I haven’t even gotten to the Patriots. They destroyed the Commanders 48-18 in their first preseason outing. Both Josh Dobbs and Ben Wooldridge have delivered performances with more than 100 yards plus a touchdown and no INTs. I’m expecting a lot more offense on Thursday.
Read our full Patriots vs Giants prediction
NFL Preseason pick: Baltimore Ravens -2.5 over Washington Commanders (-112)
There are not many numbers that matter when it comes to preseason analysis. One statistic that does, however, is the dominance of the Ravens. They won a hard-to-believe 24 straight preseason games before finally losing to none other than the Commanders in Week 2 of the 2023 campaign (via a 29-28 decision). Well, Baltimore is back to its winning preseason ways in 2025 – and you can bet it will want to beat the opponent that ended the streak. No, head coach John Harbaugh’s team is not going to play like this is the Super Bowl. But it will play hard, which is more than a lot of other teams can say prior to the regular season. The Ravens opened with a 24-16 defeat of Indianapolis before hammering Dallas 31-13.
Meanwhile, the Commanders are 0-2 with losses to New England (48-18) and Cincinnati (31-17). They get only 4 days off after falling to the Bengals on Monday night. The Ravens have 6 days off after last playing on Saturday. This sets up perfectly for the visitors.
Read our full Ravens vs Commanders prediction
