Posted at 1:30 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle  -2½ -106  BET365 -1½ -110 Sportsinteraction -1½ -110 888Sport -1½ -110

Baltimore -1½ over Washington

8:00 PM EST. The elephant in the room here is that the Ravens opened as a -4-point road favorite in Washington, despite any players of note suiting up in this game. That obviously includes starting quarterback Lamar Jackson, but also backup QB Tyler Huntley, which is why this line has been bet down to the modest number you see now.

It would be foolish to think that the books posted a number like Baltimore -4 and not know that Jackson would play. Why would he? He's just been paid a fat stack of cash, and there is no way he is going to be put in a position to be injured before Week 1. Furthermore, the Ravens are a run-first team anyway, so it’s running back depth and not the quarterbacks we should be discussing tonight. Justice Hill is expected to lock up the third-string spot, but there are no guarantees, and both Melvin Gordon and Keaton Mitchell are hot on his heels. Gordon was one of the top backs in this league not that long ago, which just goes to show how expendable RBs can be and how fickle teams are about them.

Perhaps the most shocking thing about this line dropping is the fact the Ravens haven’t lost a preseason game in 24 attempts. To that, Washington guard Sam Cosmi said, “I think it’s a stupid record. I mean, who gives a shit about preseason games?” Well, Sam, maybe it’s because you were still in diapers, so maybe you don’t know this, but freaking John William Harbaugh cares about winning stupid preseason games. So do people that bet on those stupid preseason games. Perhaps this is a good lesson for Sam and all of us: if there is action on the game, it’s not “stupid”.

On the former “Football Team’s” side of the field, they’ll go with veteran pivot Jacoby Brissett and former Georgia Bulldog Jake Fromm at quarterback. Outside of their two recognizable names at the league’s most high-profile position, the Commanders are not going to dress anyone that matters, either. That means no tight end Logan Thomas, defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, right tackle Andrew Wylie, defensive end Chase Young, defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis, and cornerback Danny Johnson, who are all banged up in some capacity. It’s also unlikely that any other of the Washington starters on either side of the ball are going to play, in case you were wondering how they are approaching this game.

A psycho-analysis of what drives Harbaugh to win these preseason games at the highest of clips would be far more valuable than any breakdown of X’s and O’s or who is or isn’t going to play, but we’re not going to get into that dude’s head. All we will say is that all of that information had been factored in when the books set the opening line. So too, was the Ravens' propensity to win preseason games that “don’t matter”. Y’all, when somebody tells you something, even if you don’t want to believe it, it doesn’t hurt to listen, as they might be tipping their hand.

Sherwood/Finnie

----------------------------------------------------------------------------