The Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints will face off in the second week of preseason on Monday night. It's time to continue our NFL odds series and make a Jaguars-Saints prediction and pick.
Neither of these teams scored a win in their first preseason action, but Jacksonville certainly looked sharper than the Saints did. The Jags turned the ball over twice to the Cleveland Browns, but they looked decent throughout the entire game, especially on offense. The opposite can be said for the Saints, as head coach Sean Payton's squad committed six turnovers in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams have a lot to iron out in both execution and position battles, so expect an entertaining one here.
Here's how the bookmakers have set the lines for the last preseason game of week two, so that you can consider your Jaugars Saints pick.
NFL Odds: Jaguars-Saints Odds
Jacksonville Jaguars +4 (-104)
New Orleans Saints -4 (-116)
Over 39.5 points (-111)
Under 39.5 points (-109)
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Why The Jaguars Could Win
Jacksonville showed that they have depth at quarterback, a factor that often decides preseason games on its own. First overall pick Trevor Lawrence is obviously a great option who should play a couple of drives in the first quarter. After Lawrence hits the bench, head coach Urban Meyer will deploy one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL. Gardner Minshew should play a significant amount of snaps in this game, just like he did last week. Even after Minshew exits the game, the Jaguars should get decent quarterback play from third-string signal-caller Jake Luton. All of these guys are capable of taking care of the ball and making the easy plays, which is all it takes to win in most preseason games. Take note of that when thinking about a Jaguars Saints prediction.
Helping Jacksonville on the defensive side of things is their surprisingly deep secondary. The Jags have amassed three backup cornerbacks who would have a shot of starting on a lot of other NFL teams, as well as a couple safeties who are in the same boat. Because of this depth, defensive coordinator Joe Cullen should be able to deploy quality players for all four quarters, something that very few teams are able to do in the preseason.
Why The Saints Could Win
The Saints also have a couple of quality starters at quarterback, even if they didn't show it last week. Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill are both more than capable of picking apart preseason defenses, and one bad week doesn't change that. New Orleans should have a far more efficient offense than they had in week one, and plenty of points will come with that. Internalize that thought when assessing these Jaguars Saints odds.
Strangely enough, the Saints have very similar defensive depth as the Jaguars. New Orleans has plenty of promising young players in the secondary who will play most of this game, making life more difficult for Jacksonville's stable of quarterbacks. The Saints also have good depth at edge rusher, which should help slow down a Jaguars passing attack that looked solid in week one. New Orleans committed six turnovers last week and still only lost by three, which shows how well the defense played. A similar outing this week wouldn't be a surprise.
Final Jaguars-Saints Prediction & Pick
Quarterback is the most important position in all of sports, and that importance gets magnified even more in the preseason. For that reason, Jacksonville is the choice in this Jaguars-Saints pick. They have three reliable quarterbacks who should play just well enough to win, while the Saints will struggle on offense in the later quarters because of their lack of depth at quarterback.
FINAL PICK: Jacksonville Jaguars +4 (-104)
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