Another brutal Thursday Night Football matchup, with the NFL gifting us two non-playoff teams in a stand-alone encounter. The suddenly hot Las Vegas Raiders (5-7) head to Los Angeles, where they will take on the Rams (3-9), who are currently one of the worst two teams in the NFL. The most intriguing part about this matchup is the possibility of a Baker Mayfield sighting, with the number 1 overall selection in 2018 signing with the Rams on Tuesday, after the Panthers released the quarterback last week. There is talk he may start, and that would be fascinating to see.
Our best bet got home on Monday Night Football, as the Buccaneers went under their team total, but our alternate bet went down as they couldn’t cover the -3 spread. Our record now sits at 21-19-1 (+4.78u) on the season in primetime.
Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Rams Preview & Betting Tips
SoFi Stadium, Friday 12:15pm AEDT
Last Week
The Raiders won their 3rd straight last week, after a dominant performance over their AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers. The offense continued to sizzle off the back of Josh Jacobs (144 yards and 1 touchdown) and Davante Adams (177 yards and 2 touchdowns). Their defence is starting to make some plays, with key offseason acquisition Chandler Jones finally having a big game, sacking Justin Herbert 3 times.
The Rams closed 6.5-point dogs at home last week against the Seahawks and were in the game until Geno Smith buried them with a game winning drive. A look at the stats shows they probably shouldn’t have been that close to the Seahawks, with the run game ultimately keeping them in the contest. John Woolford struggled at quarterback, going 14/26 for 178 and two interceptions. If he plays like that again this week, the Raiders could blow the doors off the Rams.
Injury Report
Las Vegas Raiders
Jayon Brown / Divine Deablo (ILB) – OUT
Andrew Billings (DT) – OUT
Rock Ya-Sin (CB) – OUT
Hunter Renfrow (WR) – OUT
Darren Waller (TE) – OUT
Anthony Averett (FS) – OUT
Jordan Jenkins (DE) – OUT
Brandon Parker / Justin Herron (OT) – OUT
Josh Jacobs (RB) – QUESTIONABLE
Tyler Lancaster (DT) – QUESTIONABLE
Los Angeles Rams
Aaron Donald / A’Shawn Robinson (DE) – OUT
Matthew Stafford (QB) – OUT
Cooper Kupp / Allen Robinson (WR) – OUT
Joe Noteboom (OT) – OUT
Tremayne Anchrum / Logan Bruss / Alaric Jackson / Chandler Brewer (OG) – OUT
Match Preview
This number is moving, and moving hard towards the Raiders. I can’t say I blame the market, after the lookahead for this one was Raiders -5, the opener didn’t seem to move enough in my opinion, with the Raiders moving to 5.5-point favourites. The market seems to be catching up, with the number powering through 6 and well on its way to 7 in this one.
I can’t see Baker Mayfield starting this game, however, if he does, I like the Raiders even more than I do now. The performances Baker put on show at the Panthers shows he is a below average quarterback in this league. Whilst the Rams were rated higher than the Panthers for most of this season, I would rate their offensive line and offensive weapons as well below what Mayfield had to work with in Carolina, and he was dreadful there. With Woolford currently listed as questionable, the Rams might just throw Mayfield in to get him acclimated to his new team, in a throw away spot for the Rams.
The Raiders offense should be able to get to 24, in a game I can’t see the Rams scoring more than 17. Raiders to win and cover.
Las Vegas Raiders (-6.5)
$1.95 (1.5 Units)
