MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 7/24)
Josh Gross
The Las Vegas Raiders will welcome fans to Allegiant Stadium this season for the first time since moving to the desert, but their first opponent may not be arriving to a warm welcome. The Raiders host a top contender in the AFC in the Baltimore Ravens to kick off the 2021 NFL season, and oddsmakers have the Raiders as 4.5-point underdogs in the opener.
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Baltimore Ravens vs. Las Vegas Raiders Week 1 Odds
Date/Time: September 13, 8:15 p.m. ET
Arena: Allegiant Stadium
How to Watch: ESPN
Opening Odds: Ravens -6.5 | O/U 51 (BetMGM)
Latest Ravens-Raiders odds
Looking for the latest odds for this matchup? Here they are, with the best prices from various sportsbooks showing first.
Opening odds — Ravens vs. Raiders
After the Ravens opened as 6.5-point favorites for their Week 1 game vs. the Raiders, the line movement has actually gone in favor of the Raiders despite Baltimore taking most of the early action. The spread has since moved to Ravens -4.5. With quarterback Lamar Jackson missing some time during training camp due to COVID-19, oddsmakers may think the Ravens could struggle to put this team away. As for the total, which opened at 51, it has moved slightly to 51.5 with majority of early bets on the over with bettors expecting a shootout at Allegiant Stadium.
Quarterback analysis — Derek Carr vs. Lamar Jackson
The Baltimore Ravens likely have the most unique quarterback in the NFL in Jackson because of his quickness and ability to scramble. The fourth-year QB has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons, which seems unfathomable considering he also passed for 68 touchdowns and only 18 interceptions in that span. The idea that defensive coordinators have figured out his quickness is laughable as Jackson is 31-6 as a starter for the Ravens during the regular season.
As for the Raiders, they’re going back to the well with Derek Carr, who has shown flashes and shown ineptness at quarterback in his tenure. In three seasons with Jon Gruden as his head coach, Carr has shown much improvement in ball security and turnovers while increasing his touchdown numbers each year. The issue is that it doesn’t necessarily translate to wins as the Raiders are a collective 19-29 in the standings since Gruden took over. The last time Carr faced this Ravens squad was in 2018 where they got beaten 34-17 with Carr only completing 44% of his passes and putting gup his lowest yards per attempt (5.6) of the season.
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Latest Ravens betting news & info
The Baltimore Ravens are one of the perennial contenders in the NFL with an offense that is hard to shut down because of Jackson’s scrambling ability and quickness. Last year, the Ravens were 10-5-1 as a spread bet while going 5-3 ATS in eight road games. Part of that success is attributable to Jackson’s rushing ability as the Ravens were the top rushing team in the NFL for the second-straight season and averaged 191.9 yards on the ground per game.
It’s difficult for opposing defenses to shut the Ravens down for good but even if they do, Baltimore’s defense is waiting to pounce. The Ravens were second in the NFL in scoring defense last season (18.9) and ranked just outside the top five in rushing yards and passing yards allowed.
Latest Raiders betting news & info
After not being able to play in front of home fans last year, the Raiders’ spot should be jumping for this home opener under the bright lights. The Raiders managed to finish 9-7 against the spread last year and were 4-1 ATS in their first four road games but fell off by failing to cover the spread in their final three away games.
Defensively, the Raiders were a bit of a mess last year. They finished 30th in points allowed per game and gave up second-most rushing touchdowns last year. That being said, they had a ton of injuries on the defensive line, but most players are returning while also signing a stud defensive end in Yannick Ngakoue. Will it be enough to stop arguably the most potent rushing attack in the NFL? Time will tell.
Offensively, the Raiders were decent throwing the football with Carr and the emergence of safety blanket tight end Darren Waller is a matchup nightmare. Waller finished in the top 10 in receiving yards last season while placing fourth in overall receptions. If Carr dinks and dunks his way down the field with running backs like Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake pacing the ground game, there’s no reason to think the Las Vegas offense won’t hit a lot of lucky number 7s this year.
Ravens vs. Raiders betting picks — NFL Week 1
Most of the public action is on the Ravens -4.5 and can’t really blame them. The Ravens are a Super Bowl contender while the Raiders are a team that hasn’t proven it can stop a high-end rushing attack over the last couple seasons. However, with the home crowd, a fresh defense and having their own matchup nightmare in Darren Waller, I like the Raiders to cover the 4.5-point spread and actually win this game outright. For the total, these two offenses are too potent to willingly take an U51.5 bet so I’m siding with the over as well.
FTNBets best bets
Here are our betting picks for Bears vs. Rams in Week 1.
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How to bet on this game
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