The Josh McDaniels era is over already in Sin City, and Las Vegas can get just their second winning streak of the season with a victory in the week 10 Jets at Raiders betting matchup on Sunday Night Football. Antonio Pierce took over as head coach for the embattled McDaniels and promptly led the Raiders to a 30-6 W over the Giants so what will he have in store for an encore?
The best word to describe the Jets this year is “surviving.” New York has almost zero offensive capabilities, yet have still won three of their last four behind a great defense and a very solid running game. The Jets are a hard sell as a -1.5 road favorite for SNF, but a slight 54% of the betting public is giving the points going away here.
Why the Jets Have Value at -1.5
New York QB Zach Wilson has had his share of struggles this season, but the Jets have still been winning basically without a QB. RB Breece Hall had a 177 yard rushing day against the Broncos to kick off the Jets’ stretch of three wins in their last four games and he gets to face a Raiders defense that ranks 31st in the NFL in run defense giving up 138.7 ypg.
Wilson has been bad under center for the Jets, but he’s still had 240+ yards passing in three of his last five games and also hasn’t thrown an INT since week 5 against Denver. The Raiders let undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent of the Bears to complete 21/29 passes in a 30-12 Chicago win in week 7 so there’s a chance Wilson has a productive night in this spot.
New York can cover this -1.5 not because of Hall, Wilson, or Garrett Wilson, but because of the Jets defense that is 9th in the NFL in total yards allowed (312.0) and is 8th in the league giving up 19.5 ppg. The Raiders are going with rookie Aidan O’Connell at QB so New York has a chance to really shut down the Las Vegas offense here.
Why the Raiders Have Value at +1.5
Even though they’ve switched coaches and QBs nearly every game in the past month-plus, the Raiders still come into Sunday night with some momentum after winning three of their last five. The two defeats over that span were on the road at Chicago and at Detroit, and Las Vegas is actually 3-1 at home which gives them some solid value here in primetime.
O’Connell is very green at QB, but to most Raiders fans they still like the unknown of the rookie rather than the known of either Jimmy Garoppolo or Brian Hoyer. O’Connell helped lead the Raiders to a season high 30 points in last week’s win over the Giants, and the fact he’s a rookie could help the play calling as Las Vegas relied on the run with Josh Jacobs running the ball 26 times and finding the end zone twice against the other New York team last week.
The good news for Las Vegas backers is that O’Connell and the Raiders offense won’t have to be that good on Sunday night because the Jets offense is so bad. New York scores just 16.5 ppg, and if you can stop their ground game you can stop them pretty much altogether.
Free Week 10 Jets at Raiders Betting Pick
Oddsmakers had a tough job setting the line for this game, but Las Vegas getting points at home when they are 3-1 on their own turf this year does seem interesting. It’s wild, but the rookie O’Connell actually gives you more confidence than the former #2 pick Wilson here – especially the way the Raiders can rush the passer behind Maxx Crosby and company.
Free Pick: Raiders +1.5
