There’s no question that Week 3 of the NFL preseason every year is the one that most closely resembles the regular season. Most starters should play at least the first half on every team – some veteran quarterbacks like Drew Brees or Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger can be exempt – and perhaps even early into the second half. You rarely see preseason spreads higher than 5 points, but will in Week 3.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

This is also the final week of the preseason where the games are spread out over multiple nights as every club plays on Thursday in Week 4. One marquee game this week is the annual battle for bragging rights in the Big Apple as the Giants “visit” the Jets – of course, they both actually play in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. It’s the 50th preseason meeting between them, easily the longest-running exhibition rivalry in the NFL. The Jets are 2.5-point “home” favorites.

These teams will always be tied by the 2018 draft. The Giants could have taken a franchise quarterback like Sam Darnold at No. 2 overall but instead took Penn State running back Saquon Barkley. The Jets and their fans were giddy that Darnold slipped to No. 3. While Darnold is a lock, barring injury, to play plenty on Friday (likely start), it’s not expected that Barkley will play for a second straight week. He’s dealing with a hamstring injury.