When betting the preseason, information is the key to unlocking edges. In the case of this curtain-raiser in Canton, the info that was anticipated — most starters will be sitting for both teams — was made public early in the week. For most, the Bears-Texans matchup appears to be a coin flip that might be worth only an entertainment bet. Still, there will be wagering action and a lot of it because football is finally back.

Disregard the critics who claim preseason wagering is solely for clowns and degenerates — every bookmaker will say that’s an uneducated perception. The truth is several sharp bettors want in on the action in August, when getting info early can mean getting the best of the number.

Of the many angles to consider, quarterback rotations are arguably most important to handicappers. Instead of dancing with the stars, you are betting on the backups. Do the Jets have enough firepower in reserve to win games while Aaron Rodgers is taking vacation days?

Rodgers is not expected to take a preseason snap, yet the Jets have an appealing QB depth chart highlighted by veteran Tyrod Taylor, who has started 58 career games. Playing behind Taylor will be Adrian Martinez, who was recently signed after earning UFL MVP honors for the Birmingham Stallions, and undrafted rookie Andrew Peasley from Wyoming.

Martinez, a former Nebraska and Kansas State star, is an intriguing player due to his running ability. When reserve offensive linemen are logging a lot of minutes in preseason games, a running quarterback can get out of the pocket and make something out of broken plays. Jordan Travis, a fifth-round pick from Florida State, is not expected to play for the Jets this month while recovering from a serious leg injury.

The Browns could have the best NFL preseason quarterback rotation in the league. Behind starter Deshaun Watson, who needs significant playing time, Cleveland has a proven veteran (Jameis Winston) and two running threats (Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Tyler Huntley.)

In addition to the Browns and Jets, the Bengals, Colts, Cowboys, Eagles, Falcons, Saints, and Texans should field the most effective quarterback rotations.

The Raiders should have a productive quarterback duel between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, and the Steelers could see a competition develop between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

ARIZONA: Kyler Murray, Desmond Ridder, Clayton Tune

ATLANTA: Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr., Taylor Heinicke, John Paddock

BALTIMORE: Lamar Jackson, Josh Johnson, Devin Leary, Emory Jones

BUFFALO: Josh Allen, Mitchell Trubisky, Shane Buechele

CAROLINA: Bryce Young, Andy Dalton, Jack Plummer

CHICAGO: Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, Brett Rypien, Austin Reed

CINCINNATI: Joe Burrow, Jake Browning, Logan Woodside, Rocky Lombardi

CLEVELAND: Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Tyler Huntley

DALLAS: Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Trey Lance

DENVER: Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, Zach Wilson

DETROIT: Jared Goff, Hendon Hooker, Nate Sudfeld

GREEN BAY: Jordan Love, Sean Clifford, Michael Pratt, Jacob Eason

HOUSTON: CJ Stroud, Davis Mills, Case Keenum, Tim Boyle

INDIANAPOLIS: Anthony Richardson, Joe Flacco, Sam Ehlinger, Kedon Slovis, Jason Bean

JACKSONVILLE: Trevor Lawrence, Mac Jones, CJ Beathard

KANSAS CITY: Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz, Chris Oladokun, Ian Book

LAS VEGAS: Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell, Anthony Brown, Carter Bradley

LA CHARGERS: Justin Herbert, Easton Stick, Max Duggan, Casey Bauman

LA RAMS: Matthew Stafford, Jimmy Garoppolo, Stetson Bennett, Dresser Winn

MIAMI: Tua Tagovailoa, Mike White, Skylar Thompson

MINNESOTA: Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy, Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall

NEW ENGLAND: Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, Bailey Zappe, Joe Milton

NEW ORLEANS: Derek Carr, Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler, Nathan Peterman

NY GIANTS: Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito

NY JETS: Aaron Rodgers, Tyrod Taylor, Adrian Martinez, Andrew Peasley

PHILADELPHIA: Jalen Hurts, Kenny Pickett, Tanner McKee, Will Grier

PITTSBURGH: Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Kyle Allen, John Rhys Plumlee

SAN FRANCISCO: Brock Purdy, Joshua Dobbs, Brandon Allen, Tanner Mordecai

SEATTLE: Geno Smith, Sam Howell, PJ Walker

TAMPA BAY: Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask, John Wolford, Zack Annexstad

TENNESSEE: Will Levis, Mason Rudolph, Malik Willis

WASHINGTON: Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota, Sam Hartman, Jeff Driskel

Of the 32 active NFL Head Coaches, the Ravens' John Harbaugh is the best play on coach in the preseason going 37-18 ATS, winning +17.2 units.

Of the 32 active NFL Head Coaches, the Commanders' Dan Quinn is the best play against coach in the preseason going 16-5 ATS, winning +10.5 units going against his teams.

1. LINE RANGES have proven very telling
Oddsmakers have essentially led bettors to water in the preseason, although it is easy to see how these prices can seem tricky. Since 2010, 13 teams have been favored by more than seven points. Nine of these heavy favorites won their games outright, but they were 4-9 ATS (30.8%). At the same time, favorites in the “sweet spot” range of -3.5 to -7 have been quite reliable, going 143-112-4 ATS for 56.1%. However, most games tend to land in the -1 to -3 range, and those are where the underdogs thrive. Since 2015, underdogs in the +1 to +3 range own a highly profitable record of 162-110 ATS, good for 59.6%. On that last angle, underdogs in ’23 went 13-8 ATS.

2. HOME-FIELD advantage usually means very little in tight-lined games
In the last 12 NFL preseasons, home teams finished .500 or better against the spread only twice. Last year, hosts were just 21-27 ATS. If you’re simply guessing on these games, or wagering them for fun, side with the road teams, as the points given to hosts by oddsmakers for their supposed home-field advantage tend to tip the ATS ledger to the visitors. In fact, since 2011, road teams own a 370-328 ATS edge, good for 53%, and essentially enough to make a reasonable profit without any other handicapping considered. However, the absolute best time to back road teams is when they are underdogs of 2.5 points or less, as they have gone 75-38 ATS as such since 2015, good for 66.4%. On cue, these road underdogs in ’23 went 6-3 ATS.

3. Big wins have a carryover effect
NFL teams coming off preseason wins of 20+ points and favored are on a 23-7 SU and 17-10-2 ATS (63%) surge since 2013. Most bettors tend to favor a yin-yang strategy in the preseason, assuming that the scales balance out, but in truth, big wins have provided big momentum for the next game as well.

4. Teams off double-digit losses are bad bets at home, good on the road
Games with double-digit margins are noteworthy as indicators of the potential performance of the losing team in the follow-up game. When these teams have played at home the following week, they have gone just 34-48 ATS (41.5%) since 2013. When they faced their next game on the road, they have performed well, 53-41 ATS (56.4%) in that same time span, including 7-3 ATS last year. This near-15% variance is something to consider in the final two weeks of this year’s preseason.

let's see how close this is this weekend
GL

ATLANTA is on a 5-18-1 SU and 4-20 ATS skid in the preseason

Baltimore has lost its last four preseason games ATS after an incredible 21-1-1 ATS stretch

BUFFALO is on a 12-2 SU and 11-3 ATS surge in the preseason but is 1-3 ATS in its last four

CHICAGO is 4-2 SU and 5-1 ATS in two preseasons under coach Matt Eberflus, not including the storm-shortened ’24 Hall of Fame Game

DALLAS is 3-2 SU and ATS in its last five preseason games after going 6-21-3 ATS in its prior 30

DENVER is 11-4 UNDER the total in its last 15 preseason games

DETROIT is on a 12-4 OVER the total surge in preseason games, allowing 24.9 PPG

HOUSTON is on a 9-2 UNDER the total run in preseason games, total point production 32.1 PPG

LA RAMS are on a 0-5 SU and ATS preseason skid entering ’24, getting outscored 29.8-12.2 on average

LAS VEGAS is on an impressive 12-4 SU and ATS preseason surge

MINNESOTA has lost 10 straight preseason games while going 2-8 ATS

NEW ENGLAND is on a current 11-4 UNDER the total surge in the preseason

NEW ORLEANS has gone 17-6-1 UNDER the total in its last 24 preseason games

NY GIANTS are on an 11-2 OVER the total run, total point production 44.5 PPG

The NY JETS are on 9-3-1 SU and 9-4 ATS run in the preseason

PHILADELPHIA has gone 3-13-2 SU and 4-13-1 ATS in its last 18 preseason games

PITTSBURGH has won its last six preseason games SU and ATS and is 18-4 SU and 16-6 ATS dating to 2017

SEATTLE has gone UNDER the total in nine of its last 11 preseason games

ATLANTA is just 2-9-1 SU and 1-11 ATS in its last 12 home preseason games, as well as 10-2 UNDER the total

BALTIMORE is currently on a 12-game home preseason winning streak (10-2 ATS) and is 21-3 SU in its last 24

BUFFALO has won and covered its last six preseason home games

CHICAGO is on an impressive run on 8-3-1 ATS in its last 12 road preseason games and is 7-1 OVER the total in its last eight

CINCINNATI has gone 9-1 ATS in its last 10 road preseason games but just 3-9 ATS in its last 12 at home

CLEVELAND boasts an 9-2-1 SU and 10-2 ATS mark in its last 12 preseason games away from home

DALLAS is 1-16 SU and 3-14 ATS on the preseason road since 2012

DETROIT is on skids of 1-9 SU and 1-8 ATS in home preseason games

GREEN BAY broke a seven-game road preseason losing streak in 2023 but is still 1-6-1 ATS in its last eight such contests

HOUSTON has won its last five true road preseason games SU and ATS

JACKSONVILLE home preseason games have been a struggle, 8-14 SU and 6-15-1 ATS in its last 22

LA CHARGERS are looking to end a 1-10 SU and 2-8-1 ATS skid in preseason home games

LAS VEGAS has won its last seven preseason home games SU and ATS, holding opponents to 8.4 PPG

NEW ENGLAND is 12-5 UNDER the total in its last 17 preseason road affairs

NY JETS have won their last six true road preseason games, both outright and ATS

PHILADELPHIA is on a 0-6-1 SU and 0-7 ATS skid at home in the preseason

SAN FRANCISCO has gone UNDER the total in seven of its last eight road preseason games

SEATTLE is on a 10-1 UNDER the total run in home preseason games

Since 2013, TAMPA BAY is just 5-14 SU and 4-15 ATS in home preseason games

WASHINGTON is 1-7 ATS in its last eight home preseason games

ARIZONA has lost its last five preseason games SU and ATS when coming off a win

ATLANTA hasn’t won much in the preseason, but when it has, it is just 1-7-1 SU and 1-8 ATS in the follow-up game

CAROLINA is on an 11-4 SU and 11-3-1 ATS run in its last 15 preseason games following a loss the week prior but 2-9 ATS in its last 11 following a win

CHICAGO has gone 7-0 OVER the total in its last seven games following up a preseason loss

CLEVELAND is on crazy 13-2 UNDER the total surge in preseason games following a win the week prior, allowing just 15.1 PPG

DALLAS is 5-15-2 ATS in the last 22 preseason games after a loss

DETROIT has gone 10-0 OVER the total in its last 10 games following a preseason loss

HOUSTON is 9-1 SU and ATS in its last 10 games rebounding from a preseason loss

MIAMI has rebounded from its last five preseason losses with resounding SU and ATS wins, average margin of victory 25.0 PPG

The last six NY GIANTS preseason games following an outright win have gone OVER the total, producing 52.3 PPG

NEW ORLEANS has gone UNDER the total in nine of its last 10 games following a preseason win

WASHINGTON has gone 8-1 UNDER the total in its last nine games following up a preseason loss

ATLANTA is on a 1-8 ATS skid as a preseason favorite

BUFFALO is on a 9-1 SU and ATS surge as a preseason underdog

CHICAGO is 14-4 ATS since ’15 as a preseason underdog

CINCINNATI is on a 9-2 ATS surge as a preseason underdog but is 2-7 ATS as chalk

CLEVELAND is 8-0-1 ATS since ’17 as a preseason underdog but 1-6 ATS in its last seven as a favorite

DALLAS is on a 4-11-3 ATS skid as a preseason favorite

GREEN BAY has lost seven straight games SU as preseason dog (0-6-1 ATS)

INDIANAPOLIS is on an 8-0-3 ATS surge as a preseason underdog

LA RAMS have covered just once in their last 10 preseason games as favorites

NEW ENGLAND is 12-3 UNDER the total in its last 15 as a preseason underdog

NEW ORLEANS is 2-8 SU and ATS in its last 10 as preseason underdog

NY GIANTS are 16-6 ATS in their last 22 as preseason underdogs but 1-9 ATS in their last 10 as favorites

PITTSBURGH is 9-2 SU and ATS in its last 11 as a preseason underdog

SAN FRANCISCO is on a 6-0-1 ATS streak as a preseason underdog

Non conference home teams are 22-8 ATS when playing the Packers in the preseason.