Once again, betting favorites

ruled the preseason in Week 3 with the Monday Night Football contest between the Jets and Giants still to play. Teams favored in Week 3 were 14-1 straight up and 10-5 against the spread, with the Detroit Lions topping the New England Patriots at home for the week’s only outright upset.
The ‘total’ trended ‘over’ at 9-5-1 in Week 3.
All but one game in Week 4 will be played on Thursday to give teams the chance to rest up for the regular season the following week. The NFL Network will televise two games Thursday night and then the preseason’s final game Friday night.
Thursday night’s first televised game starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET) between the Indianapolis Colts (0-3) and the Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
Indianapolis managed to cover the spread as an 8 ½-point underdog last week against Green Bay, but fell short of winning the game outright as Green Bay scored 11 points in the final minute of the game to seal the 24-21 victory.
Curtis Painter responded to the signing of Kerry Collins with a great game, passing for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Collins didn’t play last week, but should get significant playing time this week to prepare for a start in case Peyton Manning (neck) isn’t ready to go.
Andy Dalton finally put together a strong preseason game in Cincinnati’s 24-13 win over Carolina last week. Dalton was 11-for-17 with 130 yards and a touchdown, leading the Bengals to 24 points in the second quarter. Dalton will look to build on that momentum this week against the Colts.
Cincinnati has been made a 6-point favorite as Indianapolis’s quarterback situation remains in flux.
The late-night game on NFL Network pits the Denver Broncos against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The game is set to start at 10:00 p.m. (ET).
What was once considered to be a quarterback controversy in Denver has become anything but, with Kyle Orton taking a stranglehold on the position in camp and doing nothing to relinquish it this preseason. Backup Tim Tebow will likely see a good amount of action this week as Orton rests up for the start of the regular season.
Kevin Kolb and Larry Fitzgerald have already shown some chemistry, which is a good sign for the regular season. Kolb was 11-for-20 with 205 passing yards in last week’s 34-31 loss to San Diego, with Fitzgerald grabbing three passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Arizona is a 3-point favorite at home.
The preseason wraps up with the Oakland Raiders heading to Seattle to face the Seahawks Friday night at 10:30 p.m. (ET).
Oakland is looking for its first win of the preseason, but also any semblance of an NFL defense. The Raiders have been gashed for 81 points and 1,316 yards through their first three games, including Sunday night's embarrassing 40-20 loss at home to the Saints.
The Seahawks are counting on Tarvaris Jackson to lead the offense this season, and will probably give him some solid playing time against this struggling Oakland defense. Jackson was 13-for-22 with 92 yards in last week’s 23-20 loss to Denver.
In other Week 4 action, the Houston Texans, St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions will hit the road to try and finish their preseasons undefeated. Houston is a 2½-point underdog at Minnesota, St. Louis is a 3-point underdog at Jacksonville, and Detroit is a 1-point underdog at Buffalo.