The best part of Week 4 preseason is the fact you can see the real season just over the fence...and in this case, we are less than a week away from betting into regular season NFL betting odds on the Week 1 matchups.

But there are still a handful of preseason games remaining. Let’s take a look at three of the matchups from Friday night.

All lines are courtesy online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com

NFL Picks

Houston Texans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFL Lines: Houston: - 3
Over/Under: 34

Both teams are 1-2 going into the last preseason game. Houston will sit gimpy QB Matt Schaub to rest his ankle for the home opener against the Jets. Second-string quarterback Rex Grossman has a hamstring injury but will see limited duty. Dan Orlovsky will start and look to improve on his last performance against the Vikings in week three where he completed seven-of-11 passes for 74 yards, with an interception and no touchdowns. Keep an eye on WR Jacoby Jones to continue his strong preseason and rookie running back Arian Foster to get most of the carries. Rookie LB Brian Cushing could see his first preseason action.

Tampa Bay is entering this game after having fired Offensive Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski and will look to open up the playbook to get better results than their first three games. The Bucs have named Byron Leftwich their starting QB and he will sit this one out handing the reigns over to highly touted rookie Josh Freeman. Luke McCown will also see some time as the Bucs have been quietly shopping him this week. Tampa will sit most of their starters and rely on a backfield of B.J. Askew and Clifton Smith.

Small lean to the home team at +3.


Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota: - 3
Over/Under: 36

The Cowboys at 1-2 take on the Vikings in Minnesota who are looking to go 4-0 in preseason.

Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and the rest of the Vikings starters are out. Tarvaris Jackson will start and word is the Vikes are shopping him around the league. Top wide-out Bernard Berrian is still out after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury.

Dallas is 1-2 in preseason and will likely rest all of their starters. Roy Williams will sit out to rest his sore shoulder. The Cowboys are looking to play most of the 3rd and 4th string players.

Proceed at your own risk


San Francisco 49ers at San Diego Chargers
San Diego: - 3.5
Over/Under: 37

The last preseason game mercifully wraps up in San Diego with the Niners in town. San Francisco is 3-0 in preseason and the Chargers are 1-2. The Niners will likely go with fifth round pick Nate Davis at quarterback for most of the game. He led the 49ers on an 88 yard scoring drive last week against the Cowboys. His play resulted in the release this week of 12-year veteran Damon Huard. Alex Smith is out with a hand injury and starter Shaun Hill will see limited action.

Hill has completed 14-of-26 passes for 140 yards without a touchdown or interception during the exhibition period to date. The running game has been impressive gaining 5.0 yards per rush. Rookie Glen Coffee has 230 yards on 38 carries and free agent Kory Sheets has 144 on 33 carries and 3 touchdowns.

The Chargers are looking to get most of their starters in for one or two series. LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles will not play. Running back Michael Bennett has three td’s in the preseason and is making a strong push to make the 53-man roster.Small lean to the Chargers


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