Raiders-Ravens Week 1 odds

Week one of the NFL season is almost in the books and with just one matchup remaining it’s time to five into the Raiders-Ravens Week 1 odds ahead of Monday Night Football. BetRivers has a wide variety of Raiders-Ravens odds, props, teasers, and in-game markets to choose from. The Ravens travel to Las Vegas with some serious questions in their backfield, having lost their top three running backs to injuries since the end of the preseason. Baltimore will roll out Ty’Son Williams, Latavius Murray, and Le”Veon Bell, all three new roster additions within the last three weeks.

Longtime Poker broadcaster and sports bettor David Tuchman is here to preview the Raiders-Ravens Week 1 odds and provides his analysis on the best bets worth a wager.

RELATED: AFC WEST PREVIEW | AFC NORTH PREVIEW

We went 2-1 on Thursday night and 3-1 on Sunday. +331 so far – it’s far too early to celebrate, but getting a good start is far better than the alternative. 

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS vs. BALTIMORE RAVENS

MONEYLINE: Raiders +170 ML, Ravens -195 ML
SPREAD: Ravens -4
OVER/UNDER: 50.5 points

RAIDERS vs. RAVENS PUBLIC TRENDS
Ravens ML: 60% handle, 73% bets
Ravens Spread: 45% handle, 51% bets
Over: 53% handle, 60% bets

The Raiders-Ravens odds have seen a good bit of action recently. The line was moving up towards 4.5 and even 5 before Baltimore got hit by the injury bug in pre-season. The Ravens lost three running backs (J.K Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill) and a starting CB (Marcus Peters). This feels like a bit of an overreaction as lines don’t usually move much unless it’s a quarterback injury. That said, I’m not thrilled about either side. If you’re in a spot where you need to pick a side, I’d lean Vegas +4. 

The total is 50.5 and I think there’s some value here. The Raiders have one of the worst coverage units in the league and aren’t particularly good at stopping the run. I don’t see the Raiders stopping Lamar Jackson and that offense. 

On the Raider’s side of the ball, they rely on TE Darren Waller, and coincidently the Ravens struggle stopping tight ends. (At least they did last season.) This feels like a game where the Ravens go up early and Derek Carr is forced to throw the ball a ton.  Both teams have extremely talented TEs and neither defense is built to stop them. I expect both Darren Waller and Mark Andrews to have good games. 

The Picks: 

– Mark Andrews OVER 58.5 receiving yards
– Darren Waller OVER 5.5 receptions
– OVER 50.5 

TUCK’S TEN TAKEAWAYS FROM WEEK 1

  1. Rookie Wide Receivers can have an impact. Whether it was Ja’Marr Chase in Cincinnati, Devonta Smith in Philadelphia or Jaylen Waddle in Miami the new batch of rookie WRs will be a handful.
  2. Rookie QBs will make a ton of mistakes but aren’t going away anytime soon. Three rookie QBs started on Sunday – they went 0-3 ATS. 
  3. Maybe Urban Meyer isn’t suited to be an NFL coach? Let’s not pretend the Jacksonville Jaguars are the 1989 San Francisco 49ers, but to put that weak of an effort forward against the putrid Houston Texans is inexcusable. Maybe, you’re thinking Houston isn’t as bad as we all thought they were. I suppose that’s possible, but I don’t think it’s likely. 
  4. Are the Buffalo Bills a one-year wonder? Was last year an aberration? Or are the Pittsburgh Steelers better than we thought? Or was that just a one-game blip?
  5. Maybe the Atlanta Falcons should have chosen a different path? The Detroit Lions realized they couldn’t compete and decided to trade veteran QB Matthew Stafford. Is it time for the Falcons to do the same with Matt Ryan? 
  6. Sean Payton is a good coach. He doesn’t try to make a filet mignon when you give him hamburger meat. He puts his team (and players) in a position to succeed.  I think the Green Bay Packers will be fine, but Week 1 had better be a wake-up call. 
  7. It won’t be pretty in the Big Apple. The New York Giants will draft in the top three next year.
  8. If they stay healthy, The Los Angeles Rams are going to be a very good team. I was intrigued to see how Stafford would mesh with head coach Sean McVay and the far too small a sample size indications are that they’ll work together really well. They are definitely on my shortlist of teams that could be playing for the championship in February. 
  9. The Andy Dalton era won’t last long for the Chicago Bears. There was no need to start Justin Fields in Los Angeles against the ferocious defense of the Rams, but now that, that game is out of the way, I suspect we’ll see Fields under center sooner rather than later. 
  10. You can run on the Kansas City Chiefs and maybe that would be a problem a decade ago, but in today’s game, I don’t think it matters. It’s a passing league and if you rush the QB/pass the ball, you’ll be just fine.