NFL Week 1 Odds – Baltimore Ravens at Las Vegas Raiders
The Week 1 NFL betting schedule concludes with a Monday Night Football matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders. They haven’t taken a regular season snap and the Ravens are already down a number of key players with their running back group taking a serious blow. Starter J.K. Dobbins and top backup Gus Edwards were both lost for the season leaving former MVP Lamar Jackson to pick up the slack. That’s not a bad option since LJ led the team in rushing the last two seasons. Despite the injuries the Ravens are a 4-point favorite on the NFL betting line.
Baltimore Ravens at Las Vegas Raiders
Date and Time: Monday, September 13, 2021, 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Opening NFL Odds: Baltimore -4, O/U 50
Ravens at Raiders TV Coverage: ESPN/ABC
Odds Analysis
There’s been little movement on the line since news of Baltimore’s injuries with the visitors positioned as a 4-point favorite. The Ravens were -5.5 when the early line hit the board a few months ago and that number was quickly wagered in favor of the Raiders to -4. The spread swayed a half point in either direction but settled at its current number. Being a home dog is nothing new for the Raiders, who went 1-5 SU and 3-3 ATS when catching points last season. Vegas cashed the OVER in all six of those games with the closing total higher than the current number of 50 for Monday night’s contest.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens enjoyed all kinds of success on offense the last two seasons mainly because of their lethal ground game. They led the NFL last season averaging 192 yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry. They were even better in 2019 averaging 206 yards per game. So, where do they go from here with Dobbins, Edwards and Justice Hill all sidelined with season-enders? Well, they still have Jackson and he’s been a stud running the football. John Harbaugh would like to see his QB take fewer risks running, but that’s what makes him so special.
Jackson rushed for more than 1,000 yards while averaging more than 6.0 yards per carry in each of the last two seasons. He’s been efficient throwing the football, though that part of his game is overlooked, which is odd for a quarterback. His numbers dipped last year from his 2019 MVP season, but the Ravens still boasted the seventh highest scoring outfit at nearly 30 points per game.
The injury bug hasn’t been limited to the offense, either. Among the fallen are Marcus Peters, L.J. Fort and Derek Wolfe. Every team deals with injuries; that’s just part of the game. However, no team has been as snakebit as the Ravens. They can either feel sorry for themselves or they can rally around their teammates. I’m counting on the latter, as is Ronnie Stanley, who said recently, “The Ravens are going to be the Ravens, We’re going to step up.”
Las Vegas Raiders
A porous Vegas defense could be the elixir Baltimore’s offense needs. The Raiders weren’t very good stopping opponents last season and it cost them a possible playoff berth. They dropped five of their final seven games allowing 30 or more points in five of those contests and an average of 33.9 points overall in that span. They were just 2-5 ATS in that stretch. The club addressed the issue hiring Gus Bradley as the new coordinator, drafting several defenders, and bringing in veterans Yannick Ngakoue and K.J. Wright.
It’s time the Raiders saw a return on their investment with coach Jon Gruden. Now in his fourth season of his second stint with the club, the Raiders have yet to produce a winning record or playoff appearance under his watch. There has been steady improvement though with the win total increasing every year. The Raiders haven’t had a top-10 scoring defense since their 2002 Super Bowl season and they’ve been horrible since Gruden returned finishing 30th last year and no better than 24th in the previous two seasons.
Offensively the Raiders should be above average. Derek Carr had a solid 2020 throwing for a career-best 4,103 yards with 27 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. He has a strong group of receivers, though a makeshift line could cause some problems. The Raiders cashed the OVER in each of their final five games last season and the OVER is 5-0 in the last five meetings between the clubs.
Bet Ravens at Raiders at BookMaker.eu
Nobody is going to feel sorry for the Ravens so they’ll have to buckle down and play. The injuries are a concern, but nothing they won’t be able to overcome. It will take some time, though, to figure out and get the ground game going. Because of that I like the Raiders and the points, and there will be scoring making the OVER a solid play.
NFL Score Prediction: Raiders 31, Ravens 27
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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com
