Patriots-Saints Odds: New England A Slim Underdog In Preseason Matchup
The New England Patriots will look to avoid their fourth consecutive preseason road loss when they travel to New Orleans on Saturday night to face the Saints as slim one-point underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Patriots also are in search of their first win of the NFL preseason after dropping a 22-11 decision at home to the Green Bay Packers last week. Quarterback Tom Brady made a brief appearance in that defeat, completing only 1 of 4 passes for 10 yards in a contest dominated by the Packers.
It remains unclear how much action Brady will see Saturday night following a busy week in his legal battle to try to have his four-game Deflategate suspension overturned.
Brady is scheduled to miss the first four games of the regular season, but the uncertainty over his status for the start of the season has not shaken the Patriots’ Super Bowl odds, which remain at a resilient 9-1.
The Saints also seek their first preseason victory following a 30-27 loss to the Ravens in Baltimore last week. New Orleans was without star quarterback Drew Brees against the Ravens, while youngster Ryan Griffin led all Saints passers with 112 passing yards and one touchdown strike.
Brees is expected to play in Saturday night’s Patriots vs. Saints betting matchup at the Superdome and will have plenty of wide receivers to work with, as no fewer than six players are vying for jobs behind starters Brandin Cooks and Marques Colston. That is welcome news for a New Orleans squad that finished with a disappointing 7-9 record last season, was out of playoff contention and sits well back of the favorites on the Super Bowl futures with 33-1 odds.
Recent trends for Saturday don’t favor the Saints, who are 0-2 straight up and 1-1 against the spread in their last two preseason dates with the Patriots and 1-4 SU in their last five regular-season meetings, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
New Orleans has been solid in recent preseason games on home turf, going 4-1 SU and ATS in their past five, but will need to overcome a brutal stretch at home to end the 2014 regular season, during which it went 0-5 SU in its last five home contests, losing outright as betting favorites in each.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
