NFL Preseason Best Bets: Week 2 Predictions & Picks (2026)
The 2026 NFL regular season is less than a month away. For now, our football fix focuses on the preseason, with Week 2 now upon us. All 32 teams will take the field; there are 16 games spanning four days – Thursday (two), Friday (three), Saturday (10) and Sunday (one). Yes, we have four straight days of action on the gridiron!
Here are my three best bets for Week 2 of the 2026 NFL preseason. Additionally, our experts have combed through all the major NFL futures betting markets to deliver their NFL predictions and NFL best bets — including the Super Bowl winner, MVP winner and EVERY player award!
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NFL Preseason Best Bet: Indianapolis Colts -3.5 over Atlanta Falcons (-110)
The Colts are coming off a 13-13 tie against the Patriots in their first preseason appearance, while the Falcons were blown out by the Broncos 27-7. It would be a surprise if Atlanta’s doldrums continue in Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon. As part of an extremely questionable quarterback stable in the ATL, Tua Tagovailoa did not look great in limited work against Denver. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has already said that none of his starters will play in this game, and that includes Tagovailoa (even though he has not been confirmed as the regular-season starter ahead of Michael Penix Jr.). As such, Cooper Rush and Jack Strand will likely be under center for the visitors. The Colts won their last two preseason games in both 2023 and 2024 before dominating their 2025 preseason finale against the Bengals 41-14. Give me Indy in front of the home crowd against an unspectacular opponent.
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NFL Preseason Best Bet: Kansas City Chiefs vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Under 37.5 (-115)
The Bucs will probably prevail on Saturday night in Tampa, but I’m not inclined to give 5.5 points in basically any preseason situation. However, the under in this contest is quite appealing. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid almost never shows much of an interest in any preseason situation. Kansas City has compiled 0-3 records in the last two preseasons. With Patrick Mahomes obviously not playing, Reid’s crew lost its opening matchup against the Rams 20-12 last weekend. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s defensive linemen should be especially motivated to put on a good show with regular-season playing time perhaps available if Vita Vea really does make good on his trade demand. The Bucs held the Jets to a modest 16 points in Week 1 of the preseason.
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NFL Preseason Best Bet: Seattle Seahawks vs Tennessee Titans Under 38.5 (-115)
This should also be a matchup that is conducive to the under. Tennessee head coach Robert Saleh has confirmed that his starters will play on Sunday, perhaps for as much as a half. As for the reigning Super Bowl champions, they will probably be content to have their starters get in all of their work during joint practices earlier in the week. Head coach Mike Macdonald does not sound like he is about to send his top guys into the preseason fray. I have full faith in the Titans' first-string defense being able to contain the Seahawks' second and third-tier offensive players. At the same time, the Titans' offense is mediocre at best and probably won't be good enough -- nor will it be showcasing an advanced playbook in Week 2 of the preaseason -- to take advantage of Seattle's defensive backups. The Seahawks lost their preseason opener 17-7 to the Cowboys, while the Titans knocked off the 49ers 19-13. Another low-scoring affair could be in the cards.
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