NFL Week 8 Raiders at Saints Betting Preview
LV Tries to Put Together a Win Streak
Las Vegas looked like they turned a corner in last week’s 38-20 win over the Texans, but oddsmakers don’t seem to think so making the visitors just -1.5 favorites in the Week 8 Raiders at Saints matchup. Sure the Raiders are just 2-4 on the season, but all four of their defeats have been by one score and two of them were by a combined three points.
New Orleans is 2-5 on the season and they’ve had some extra rest following a 42-34 loss to Arizona last Thursday night. The Saints have dropped five of their last six and have lost home games to Cincinnati (30-26) and Tampa Bay (20-10) this season. The -1.5 looks like a trap, and indeed a hefty 72% of the betting public is on the Raiders.
Raiders Better Than Their Record
It took awhile last week but the Raiders finally pulled away from Houston last week as their 21-point 4th quarter gave them a 38-20 win and covered the -7 point spread at home. Las Vegas was coming off their bye and had fallen just 30-29 at the Chiefs in week 5 so it was a nice bounce back victory for the Raiders.
Now Las Vegas tries to make it two in a row and stay in the hunt in the AFC West where Kansas City leads with a 5-2 record. While the Raiders have the high-powered potential in the passing game with Derek Carr and Davante Adams, it’s been Josh Jacobs and the run game that has fueled wins in two of the last three. Jacobs had three rushing TDs vs. the Texans and has six scores in his last three games.
We’d be signing a much different tune about these Raiders in Josh McDaniels’ first year as coach if they had been able to pull out the 1-point loss to the Chiefs or the 24-22 loss in Tennessee or even the 29-23 OT loss to Arizona or the 24-19 defeat at the Chargers in the season opener. Las Vegas has been competitive in every game this season which should continue in the week 8 Raiders at Saints matchup.
New Orleans With Extra Prep Time
The Saints go from the short turnaround in last Thursday’s 42-34 loss at Arizona in the week 7 Thursday night game to some extra time to prepare for Las Vegas with a 10-day layoff. Similar to the Raiders, four of the Saints’ five losses have been by one score with their biggest defeat being the 10-point loss to Tampa Bay in week 2.
New Orleans’ biggest Achilles heel has been turnovers as they lead the NFL with 16. The good thing about that is the Raiders have only forced four takeaways which is second fewest in the league. Andy Dalton had 3 INTs in the game vs. the Cardinals which negated his 361 yard, 4 TD performance.
Las Vegas has been solid against the run this season (104.0 ypg) which may limit to of New Orleans’ biggest weapons in Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill. The Raiders also give up a ton of yards through the air though (262.7) so the Saints should be able to move the ball via the pass.
Free Week 8 Raiders at Saints Betting Pick
This side has all the makings of a trap game from the line looking way too low to nearly 3/4 of the betting public on the Raiders with very little line movement. You just can’t take the Raiders in this spot.
Free Pick: Saints +1.5
