NFL Preseason 2019 Week 1: Saturday TV Schedule, Live Stream, Scores, Odds And Pro Predictions

Week 1 of the 2019 NFL preseason winds down on Saturday with a trio of games that will feature the Los Angeles Rams vs. Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers. The latter matchup will be broadcast nationally on the NFL Network, allowing fans in any market to get a glimpse of two of the league’s most popular teams making their preseason debut. These three contests represent the last opportunity to watch pro football until late next week, which is why fans would be wise to get some bets in against the spread before kickoffs begin at 8 p.m. ET.

Oddsmakers opened betting with the 49ers as three-point chalk, but that line has since been adjusted to SF -4.5 to account for the one-sided action that the books are receiving. The public is overwhelmingly backing the home squad in this matchup, with 72% of all bets and 73% of the cash wagered on the San Francisco side. The total for this game has also slightly shifted, as the over/under has jumped up to 37 points after first showing up on the board at 36 points. The public is more split on this line, with a small majority of tickets (57%) and money (54%) preferring the over.

Don’t expect to see too many familiar faces on the field tonight, as Week 1 of the preseason is often used by organizations as a chance to evaluate young, raw talent and players on the fringes of making the cut after training camp wraps up. Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett usually yanks the starters that do see the field during his team’s opening exhibition games before the second quarter even starts, while 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has been vocal with his distaste for preseason football. He recently went on the record to state he would prefer to see it shortened or even eliminated in favor of joint practices and other evaluation methods.

“You absolutely don’t need four preseason games,” Shanahan said, via NBCSports.com. “I’d rather have zero than four. Preferably, I’d like two. One to evaluate the people trying to make the team and then just one to knock a little rust off.”

It’s never easy to project how an NFL preseason game will play out due to the limited schemes, lower levels of talent and constantly rotating lineups, but those looking to roll the dice on the final three contests of Week 1 have come to the right place. Pro handicapper Jon Price of SportsInformationTraders.com sent along his final predictions for the week and you won’t want to miss out on which teams the Vegas expert is picking on Saturday night. Before getting to Price’s leans, have a look at the complete schedule, kickoff start times, local and national TV channels, live stream sites and updated odds for each of the remaining Week 1 games. You’ll also be able to find scores and highlights from the previous two days, plus relevant betting trends, tweets, quotes and much more for the exciting Week 1 finale of the 2019 NFL preseason.

NFL Preseason Week 1 Viewing Guide And Odds

*=Nationally Televised

NFL Network games live streamed on NFL.com, every 2019 NFL preseason game will be live streamed via NFL Game Pass.

NFL Preseason Week 1 Scores

NFL Preseason Week 1 Saturday Betting Trends

Raiders vs. Rams

• The Rams haven’t finished above .500 in preseason play since 2011, going 2-2 in each of the last three preseasons.
• The Raiders went 3-1 SU during the 2018 NFL preseason.
• Oakland head coach Jon Gruden is 33-17 during his career in preseason games, including a 3-1 run during his first year with the Raiders in 2018. Rams head coach Sean McVay is 4-4 in exhibition during his tenure with LA.

Chiefs vs. Bengals

• The Bengals are 4-1 against the spread over their last five games.
• The total has gone UNDER in six of the last eight games played between these teams at Arrowhead Stadium.
• Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor will be making his debut on the sidelines for the Bengals, while veteran head coach Andy Reid is 38-42 during the preseason for his career.

49ers vs. Cowboys

• The Cowboys went 0-4 SU and 1-3 ATS during the 2018 preseason, while the 49ers went 1-3 SU and 0-3-1 ATS in the same span.
• The total has gone OVER in three of San Francisco’s four home games during the 2017 and 2018 preseasons.
• 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is 3-5 SU for his career during exhibition games, while Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett is just 12-21 SU.

NFL Preseason Week 1 Saturday Tweets And Quotes

Raiders vs. Rams

Adam Schefter reported that new Raiders receiver Antonio Brown may never suit up for the team and opt to retire if he isn’t allowed to wear the helmet model he has worn his entire career:

And now this: Raiders’ WR Antonio Brown has told team officials that, unless he gets to wear his old helmet, he will not play football again, per league sources.

And more....

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 9, 2019

Rams head coach Sean McVay came away impressed with the Raiders defense during joint practice sessions leading up to their Week 1 preseason clash (via NBCSports.com):

Lot of new faces, lot of speed, lot of physicality. I think you're seeing guys get more and more comfortable with [Oakland defensive coordinator Paul] Gunether's system. There is definitely some nice intricacies to it that make it really challenging to an offense. I think when you look at [Clelin] Ferrell, you look at [Johnathan] Abram, you feel those guys out there. Adding a Vontaze Burfict, when you're out here and you listen to his ability to communicate, it's pretty impressive. They've definitely got some good depth up front, they've got some inside linebackers who can play and they've got some physical safeties and some corners who can run. So I think you can expect them to be a really tough matchup for offenses this year

Gary Klein pointed out that the Rams will have a veteran signal-caller on the field for the preseason as former Jaguars starter and current LA backup Blake Bortles attempts to revive his career:

Rams will have inexperienced players on the field against Raiders, but not at quarterback with Blake Bortles. https://t.co/Cg6kkvWGDM

— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) August 10, 2019

Chiefs vs. Bengals

The Bengals posted a training camp report ahead of their matchup with Kansas City:

We take a look ahead to Saturday’s preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs in today’s Training Camp Report pres. by @medmutual: pic.twitter.com/u4LQJkhMPv

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 8, 2019

Chiefs head coach Andy Ried confirmed that reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes will start and play the first quarter of the team’s upcoming 2019 NFL preseason opener against the Bengals (via Chiefs.com):

I do it by quarterbacks, so Patrick [Mahomes] has the first quarter and then Chad [Henne] has the second quarter, [Kyle] Shurmur the third quarter and Chase [Litton] the fourth quarter. Then the guys fall in. Everybody will play in the game. The main thing is that we get some of the young guys some playing time. You normally cut down the game plan a little bit for this. Just take some of the simpler plays - the easier plays that you’ve run during camp - and let them go out and play.

SNF on NBC highlighted a quote from Cincinnati running back Joe Mixon on how his squad’s offense should be as explosive as the Rams’ league-leading unit was in 2018:

Joe Mixon on @Bengals: “Film speaks for itself. You see @RamsNFL running wild all day. We’ve got that same offense. We have better players than them with these offensive weapons. I would think we can do the same stuff, if not more, than they can.” #NFL https://t.co/3PkTU19Joe pic.twitter.com/1gasvxXfD7

— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) July 31, 2019

49ers vs. Cowboys

Blogging the Boys reminded everyone of the last time Dallas tight end Jason Witten—who left the Monday Night Football booth and came out of retirement to return to the Cowboys this offseason—played in San Francisco:

The Dallas Cowboys will play a football game in San Francisco on Saturday night.

Jason Witten will be there.

Last time he was in San Francisco with them this happened. (via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/XI5WjYsc1Y

— Blogging The Boys (@BloggingTheBoys) August 10, 2019

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett thinks that the preseason represents a great chance to evaluate talent (via DallasNews.com):

A lot of people talk about the value of preseason games and how many we need and all of that. I think it's a great opportunity to evaluate players, build your team, and when you're building your team, you're not only talking about the players, you're talking about coaches and the dynamics among the coaching staff and particularly if someone is doing something for the first time. You want to see them and give them as many opportunities you can. So I think it's an important game, important opportunity for our whole football team.

Grant Cohn quoted 49ers general manager John Lynch’s thoughts on quarterback Nick Mullens, who performed admirably after starter Jimmy Garoppolo went down with injury in 2018:

John Lynch on Nick Mullens: "He continues to do it each and every day. The thing we’ve learned inside this building, don’t put limitations on this guy. He’s not going to wilt under pressure."

— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) August 8, 2019

NFL Preseason Week 1 Saturday Pro Picks

Raiders vs. Rams

Pick: Rams +4.5

Prediction: Raiders 20 – Rams 17

Chiefs vs. Bengals

Pick: Bengals +3.5

Prediction: Chiefs 21 – Bengals 20

49ers vs. Cowboys

Pick: 49ers -4.5

Prediction: 49ers 24 – Cowboys 14