The Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots will kick off week 1 of the 2015 preseason against each other at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, August 13, at 7:30 PM. ET.
Last season, the Packers almost made it to the Super Bowl, but they suffered a late game collapse in the NFC Championship game, which ended up costing them against the Seattle Seahawks, who represented the NFC in the Super Bowl. The Patriots on the other hand, had no problems against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game, and went on to defeat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, winning their fourth Super Bowl in the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era.
These two teams met for the first time in the Tom Brady/Aaron Rodgers era last season, in what was one of the best games of the year. This time around, the stakes aren’t high, which means the game is probably not going to be as exciting as the game they played last year. With that being said, there is still a lot to look forward to, especially if you are a sports betting fan.
Packers vs Patriots Betting Lines
BetOnline.ag has the Patriots favoured by 3 points, while the over/under on total points is set at 38 points. Visit our BetOnline review page for more info about the sportsbook.
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My Pick
The Packers are coming into the season with high expectations, especially after last season’s success, and the team addressed some of their defensive issues in the offseason through the draft and free agency, giving them a lot of confidence about their chances of going all the way this season.
Since this is the first preseason game, the Packers are not going to give Aaron Rodgers a lot of playing time, because they want to limit his chances of getting injured, which means that he is likely going to play one or two series before head coach Mike McCarthy pulls him out of the game. The same goes for running back Eddie Lacy and defensive star Clay Matthews, who is recovering from an injury, and probably won’t play at all.
Garoppolo should get a lot of playing time this Thursday.
After winning the Super Bowl last season, the Patriots are coming into the season with higher expectations than any other team in the league, but some of the expectation has been tempered due to the suspension of star quarterback Tom Brady, for the first four games of the season. Since he is currently appealing the suspension, his status for the season opener is up in the air.
With Brady’s status unknown, the Patriots will have to get backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo ready to start, which means he is going to get a lot of playing time with the first team offense on Thursday night. Garoppolo getting a lot of playing time with the first team offense means that he will get to play a lot of minutes against the Packers second string defense, which will be an advantage for the Patriots in the game.
The New England Patriots are also playing their first home game since they won the Super Bowl, so the crowd is going to be loud and firmly behind their home team, which also gives the Patriots the advantage.
Preseason games can be very unpredictable, but since this is the first game, the scoring is going to be pretty low because the players are rusty and out of sync. I’m leaning towards the Patriots minus the points, but I think my top play is going to be the under in this game. I just don’t see more than 38 points being scored.
Play: Under 38 @ BetOnline.ag
Green Bay Packers • New England Patriots • NFL Preseason