Since taking over the Ravens in 2008, John Harbaugh has 147 career regular-season victories, 10 playoff appearances, and a Super Bowl championship. Although preseason games don’t carry the same weight for sports bettors, Harbaugh has been money in the bank with an all-time 39-16 record and a current 24-game winning streak in preseason games, with his last loss coming in 2015.
Despite the Ravens being automatic in the preseason under Harbaugh, Baltimore finds themselves only a one-point favorite when they make their short road trip against the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.
Are the Ravens easy money for Monday night, or should you follow the money coming in on the Commanders?
The Commanders are coming off a 17-15 road upset win over the Cleveland Browns. Led by offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, the Commanders saw bright spots in second-year quarterback Sam Howell and rookie running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. Reliable veteran backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett also led the offense on a scoring drive, capped off by a touchdown drive.
The Ravens squeaked by in their preseason opener, beating the Eagles 20-19. Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley went 8 for 11 passing and gained 101 all-purpose yards with a touchdown in the victory. A key reason the Ravens are only one-point favorites heading into the weekend is that Huntley has been listed as questionable and has missed practices this week due to his hamstring.
With this game being played on ESPN Monday night, there should be no lack of motivation on each side. Regardless of how much the starters play, rookies and players fighting to make the roster will have an excellent opportunity to get noticed and potentially impress other teams around the league.
With Huntley banged up and unlikely to play, along with Lamar Jackson also not expected to play, the Washington offense seems to have the edge. Sam Howell has been named the starter, and Monday Night gives him and Eric Bieniemy another opportunity to work on their chemistry as they fine-tune for the regular season.
Everything you need to know heading into tonight's matchup against the Commanders: https://t.co/0QzKb3pLYW
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 21, 2023
Regarding the betting odds, I will back the Ravens on Monday Night Football. I need more than the one-point spread to go against the Ravens and John Harbaugh in this spot. Both of these teams have been practicing against each other throughout the week, and this game is likely to be decided in the second half, where the Commanders struggled against Cleveland.
Baltimore’s quarterback situation is not gloom and doom by preseason standards. Josh Johnson is a 37-year-old veteran and looked sharp against the Eagles. Anthony Brown is a solid option as well. Last season, Brown appeared in two games for the Ravens and will be motivated to showcase what he can do to help keep the NFL’s all-time longest preseason winning streak alive.
Overall, with so many unknowns in the preseason, I will bet on what we can trust most in this matchup, and that’s Jim Harbaugh.
Pick: Ravens -1
Preseason Week ✌️ comes to a close. See you tonight.
📺: #BALvsWAS 8PM ET on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/T5TXDVIagF— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2023
The sportsbettinghandicapper.com simulation model, which simulates every Football game thousands of times, is up +38.5 units over the last three years. We have released 388 total games with 209 WINS and 179 losses ATS for a win % of 53.87%. A $100 bettor of our Football games would have netted a profit of $3,850 and, a $1,000 bettor would have won $38,500 just on the NFL picks. Now is the time to sign-up and start winning.
| Title: Will the Commanders snap the Ravens’ 24-game winning streak on Monday Night Football?
| Author: David Marotta
| Date: August 21th, 2023