The second week of the NFL preseason kicks off tonight as teams begin to play their starting units longer. Below is a look at both games on the pro football card for Thursday night, including the national television matchup on FOX. KANSAS CITY at N.Y. GIANTS (-3, 35) 8:00 pm ET (FOX) The Giants are coming off an emotional win last week at Baltimore as they went 16 plays and 62 yards in the final 5:40 of the game and kicked a winning field goal as time expired for a 17-16 win. Kansas City lost 24-14 at Houston as the Chiefs were without their second and third string quarterbacks as Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle both missed the game due to injuries. Starting quarterback Trent Green looked strong and was 5-for-6 and led the Chiefs on an early touchdown drive, but backup Casey Printers was awful with a 33.7 QB rating over the final 3 quarters of the game. Printers received no protection from the Chiefs offensive line as he was sacked five times. The Chiefs might get QB Damon Huard back tonight, but QB Brodie Croyle is once again out. The starters are expected to play into the second quarter this evening. The Giants are also planning on playing their starters for 1 quarters. QB Eli Manning will start the game and be relieved by Rob Johnson who will make his first appearance of the season since returning from Tommy John surgery. Tim Hasselbeck is not expected to play tonight which means QB Jared Lorenzen will finish the game. PHILADELPHIA at BALTIMORE (-3-125, 34) 8:00 pm ET This is the Eagles third preseason game and they plan on playing their starting offense and defense the entire first half tonight. The Eagles have looked pretty strong in their first two preseason games as QB Donavan McNabb was a combined 10-for-12 passing with 106.9 and 102.8 QB ratings in each game. Second-string quarterback Jeff Garcia will not play tonight, however veteran backup Koy Detmer will play the third quarter and then the NCAAs all-time passing leader Timmy Chang will finish the game. Despite playing the entire fourth quarter last week, Chang only threw one pass as the Eagles were milking a 20-0 lead in their eventual 20-7 win over Cleveland. Chang received more work in the first game versus Oakland when he went 9-for-17 for 84 yards with a weak 42.3 QB rating. Baltimores first-team offense looked strong last week as newly acquired quarterback Steve McNair was 4-for-5 and led the team to a touchdown drive in his first and only series of the game. Look for McNair to play a little longer tonight and then be replaced by last years starter, QB Kyle Boller and Brian St. Pierre. Third-string quarterback St. Pierre was on the Ravens practice squad last year, so both backup quarterbacks Boller and St. Pierre are familiar and comfortable in the Ravens system. STEVE MERRIL is a professional sports handicapper and a documented member of The Professional Handicappers League. Get his Premium plays here. |
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