Bad blood makes Giants vs. Lions a must-see preseason game

It's a great week to be a football fan, as all 32 NFL teams will be in action with preseason games from Thursday through Sunday. It may not be as fun as the regular season, but we're just glad to have football back in our lives again.

The slate gets underway with two matchups on Thursday night, so let's dip our toes in the preseason waters and craft a mini parlay to sweat while we enjoy the action.

NFL preseason parlay

Detroit Lions @ New York Giants under 34.5
Carolina Panthers @ New England Patriots over 34.5
+272 FanDuel

Thursday night's matchup between the Lions and Giants should be a chippy one. Detroit and New York have been getting in all-out brawls during their joint practices this week, which resulted in both teams getting hit with a $200,000 fine. Now that these players can legally hit each other, this is going to be must-watch television.

Jared Goff isn't expected to play for the Lions, so it will be Nate Sudfeld and Hendon Hooker splitting reps under center. With no starting running backs or wide receivers at their disposal, both quarterbacks are likely to struggle. The Giants may start Daniel Jones, but he won't play more than one or two series. New York lacks talent and depth along the offensive line, so Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito will have a tough time moving the ball and finishing drives. We like the under 34.5 in this one.

In the other matchup, between the Panthers and Patriots, we see more opportunities for points. For starters, Dave Canales and Jarod Mayo will both be coaching in their first preseason game as NFL head coaches. First-year coaches tend to care more about preseason games and like to make a statement in their first appearance on the NFL sidelines.

The Patriots have a deep quarterback room with Drake Maye, Jacoby Brissett, Joe Milton and Bailey Zappe. All four of them can move the ball in different ways, and we love Milton's ability to scramble and chuck it deep in the second half against third- and fourth-stringers. Bryce Young won't be suiting up for the Panthers, but that might not be a bad thing for the over. Veteran QB Andy Dalton is going to pick apart these backup defenders. Give us the over 34.5 here.

In the news ...

Kyle Schwarber crushes three home runs, leads Phillies to series win over Dodgers — The Philadelphia Phillies went through a rough stretch coming out of the All-Star break, but they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-4, on Wednesday night to win the three-game series and retake the best record in MLB. Schwarber had a monster night with three home runs and seven RBI to lead the Phils to a much-needed series win. Philadelphia is +600 to win the World Series.

Team USA men's basketball set to take on Serbia in Olympic semifinals — Buckle up, hoops fans. The United States men's basketball team is gearing up to face Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. Team USA defeated Serbia, 110-84, in group play, but the Americans are only -16 in the rematch. The winner will move on to the gold medal game against the winner of France and Germany.

White Sox fire manager Pedro Grifol after 21-game losing streak — It's been a historically bad season for the Chicago White Sox, who recently went on a 21-game losing streak to tie the American League record. Changes needed to be made, and they began on Thursday morning when the White Sox fired Grifol . Chicago went 89-190 under the 54-year-old manager. The 28-89 White Sox have a live win total of 39.5.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jack Dougherty