Jacksonville Jaguars vs New Orleans Saints Point Spread Picks

Trevor Lawrence and Tyler Shough are both sitting out entirely on Saturday, with both coaching staffs using Thursday's joint practice as the real tune-up and turning the actual game over to the deep end of each roster. That flattens what should be a lopsided regular-season game into a genuine coinflip, and Jacksonville at plus money is getting paid for a gap that won't show up on the field. Liam Coen is leaning on Carter Bradley, Nick Mullens, and Joey Aguilar, none of them proven commodities, but New Orleans isn't sending out a finished product either. Spencer Rattler and Zach Wilson are still fighting for the job behind Shough, and neither has settled anything. With no established starters anywhere near this one, expect the kind of loose, mistake-prone football that comes from players fighting for roster spots rather than protecting a scheme. New Orleans' receiver room behind its top three is getting an extended run too, and that group has already flashed in camp throwing to Rattler. Backups pressing to make a 53-man roster don't play it safe, and defenses stocked with camp bodies who haven't practiced together give up exactly the kind of plays that push a preseason total past the number. Take Jacksonville on the moneyline and take the OVER Saturday afternoon.

Jacksonville has won and covered three in a row after defeating Indianapolis 37-20 last week with Trevor Lawrence throwing two TD passes and Travis Etienne adding two more scores. The defense picked off Gardner Minshew three times and recovered a fumble and the Jaguars now lead the NFL with 15 takeaways this season. Jacksonville is 10-3 ATS dating to last season and it is #15 in scoring defense allowing 20.3 points per game and #3 in rush defense yielding only 75.3 yards per game. New Orleans has gone UNDER 12 consecutive games dating to last season and it has lost three of its past four games, including 20-13 to Houston last week. The Saints are 1-4-1 ATS this season and they have scored more than 20 points just once against hapless New England. The Saints are 0-7-2 ATS on Thursdays against non-divisional opponents and they scored only 13 points against the Texans despite Derek Carr throwing for 353 yards. Jacksonville has covered six straight road games and it is 7-1 UNDER after allowing more than 350 total yards its previous game. Lawrence (knee) is a game-time decision. C.J. Beathard will start in his place if he's unable to go. Either way, take the Jaguars and the UNDER.

Both teams are looking for their first win of the preseason, with Jacksonville losing to Cleveland 23-13 in a game that went UNDER, and New Orleans staying UNDER in a 17-14 loss to Baltimore. NFL coaches are playing it close to the vest this preseason, not wanting to risk injuries to their key players, and the games are overwhelmingly going UNDER. Saints coach Sean Payton is 28-23-3 UNDER in the preseason, including nine of the last 12, and new coach Urban Meyer of the Jaguars is focusing on evaluating his players rather than putting up big numbers on offense. Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston are battling for the starting job for New Orleans, and No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew are doing the same for Jacksonville although it's only a matter of time before Lawrence takes over. The Jaguars had just 120 yards of offense in the first half against the Browns and Lawrence had a shaky start. Take the UNDER.