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Time: 10:20 p.m. EST
Betting Pick: Under 43| Bet with Borgata Now | Risk Free Bet up to $300
After an offseason of dealing with one Antonio Brown saga after another, the Raiders will finally begin their season – without him. Brown was such a nuisance that Oakland finally told him to pack his bags and not let the door hit him on the rear end. There’s an actual game to be played, though, and perhaps the Raiders can finally have some peace of mind, knowing that they can just focus on football now.
Odds Analysis: Broncos at Raiders
Back when the lines first came out at Borgata Sportsbook, the Raiders were favored at -3. However, many things have changed since that time, and we actually saw this line in the Broncos’ favor at -1 earlier in the week, to -2.5 where it currently resides.
Broncos Betting Form
The (what should be) brief Joe Flacco era gets underway this evening for the Broncos, and I guess you couldn’t have picked a better team to debut against – well, maybe the Dolphins. Not to say the Raiders’ defense is the worst but this is just a team, in general, that has had to deal with a lot of unnecessary off-the-field talk.
As for the on-the-field happenings, the Broncos come into this game feel highly confident. In fact, Denver owns the best Week 1 record (39-19-1) and the longest active win streak, with seven consecutive victories.
The Broncos’ defense against the Raiders’ offense is the biggest mismatch in the Week 1 tilt. Vic Fangio now runs things in Denver, and a team with an already-stout defense gets this mastermind to bolster this unit even further. It’s going to be very tough for Oakland to move the ball, and that’ll be the key to victory tonight.
Raiders Betting Form
Vegas has already spoken with this line moving a great deal since the open. A distracted team usually doesn’t play football at the highest level, and that’s probably what we’ll be watching. The Raiders did improve their offensive line, so we’ll probably see a lot of them running the ball.
As we just mentioned, the Raiders’ receivers don’t compare well to the members of the Broncos’ secondary, which will make it nearly impossible to throw the ball. Having AB would’ve certainly helped get separation for a lot of those other receivers, but that is all just a memory now.
Betting Pick: Under 43
There’s too much hoopla going on around the Raiders’ organization, and to be honest, this isn’t a talented rostered. Granted, they did get a new running back and new pieces on the O-line, and that’s how they’ll have to move the ball. That’ll be met with resistance from the Broncos’ front-seven.
We’re probably going to see Denver move the ball on the ground more as well. Flacco showed his age greatly in that final season in Baltimore before Lamar Jackson took over. Not to mention, the Broncos’ receiving core isn’t one of the best either.
All in all, it’ll be two teams running the ball and eating up big portions of the clock. Look for Week 1 to end on a very uneventful note.
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