Before you make any bets or picks for Week 1 of the NFL Preseason, which begins Thursday with 12 games, you need to hear what Hammerin' Hank Goldberg has to say. The legendary Vegas handicapper enjoyed a 17-year ESPN run in which he had only two losing seasons picking NFL games. Last year, Hammer competed against 10 top handicappers in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's NFL Challenge and beat them all, finishing 50-29-6 against the spread.

In last week's Hall of Fame Game, Hammer told SportsLine readers to grab Chicago +2.5 points. The result: The Bears covered, nearly winning outright in a 17-16 loss. Anyone who tailed Goldberg won with ease. 

Now, Goldberg has studied the matchups for NFL Preseason Week 1 and he's again sharing his strongest picks over at SportsLine.

We'll give one away: Hammer loves Carolina +2.5 at Buffalo on Thursday night. "The Panthers historically play well in the preseason and Buffalo has lots of problems. For starters, they don't have a quarterback," Goldberg said. "Carolina coach Ron Rivera has a new offense with Norv Turner that they want to get used to, and he has a lot of depth. The Panthers will cover these NFL odds."

Since 2012, the Panthers are 17-11 straight-up in the preseason. Turner's arrival has galvanized a Carolina offense intent on making an early statement in 2018.

Hammer also is calling for a road underdog in a high-profile matchup to win outright. Find out which dog it is at SportsLine and you could be well on your way to a profitable NFL Preseason Week 1.

So who is Hammer extremely confident in for Week 1 of the NFL Preseason? Visit SportsLine now to see which road underdog should be favored, plus get all four of Hank Goldberg's best bets, all from the legendary handicapper coming off another wildly profitable NFL season.