The Las Vegas Raiders and San Francisco 49ers square off Sunday afternoon in a NFL Week 1 preseason game at Allegiant Stadium. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
San Francisco 49ers Betting Preview
The 49ers are coming off a 13-win season and now look to make the playoffs 3 straight years for the first time since 2011-13. It’s already been reported that Brock Purdy won’t play in this contest, which means you’re going to get a boatload of Sam Darnold and Trey Lance, which is ideal given they’re fighting for the backup job anyway. Darnold has been underwhelming through 5 seasons, but has 11,000 career passing yards under his belt. Lance is the guy the 49ers originally planned to be the franchise quarterback before he got injured. Defensively, it will be interesting to see if Oren Burks can handle a full-time starting role at linebacker. Burks has been a special teams player for much of his career and has 10 career starts. An expended role at 28 years old is intriguing, and rookie Dee Winters will be champing at the bit to see some reps as well.
Las Vegas Raiders Betting Preview
The Raiders are coming off a 6-win season and have made the playoffs just twice since 2003. The Raiders are entering a new era after moving on from Derek Carr. Jimmy Garoppolo is supposed to be the starting quarterback, but he’s had serious turnover issues in camp and that’s not ideal. Remember, there were rumors floating around that Tom Brady would be the Raiders quarterback due to a lack of trust at the position. If Garoppolo can’t figure things out quickly, we may have to start giving 37-year-old Brian Hoyer a look. Purdue fourth round rookie Aidan O’Connell? Yikes. Defensively, the Raiders have to find a corner to go opposite of Marcus Peters. That will likely be decided between Nate Hobbs, David Long Jr., Duke Shelley and Jakorian Bennett. Only the Titans, Vikings, and Lions allowed more passing yards last year than the Raiders, so finding reliable defensive backs is key this preseason.
Trends
The 49ers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games on grass and 23-9 ATS in their last 32 games overall. The Raiders are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home games. The over is 6-2 in 49ers last 8 games on grass. The over is 5-2 in Raiders last 7 home games. The home team is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings. The underdog is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings.
Randy’s Pick
While I love my points in preseason action, I have no confidence in the Raiders quarterback situation. Garoppolo hasn’t been great in training camp, and a combination of Hoyer and O’Connell doesn’t make me believe they can carve up defenses even if backups. Darnold may not be great, but he has starting experience under his belt, and Lance is an above average talent for a possible third string. The 49ers should be able to have offensive success, especially against a Raiders defense that couldn’t stop anything last year. I’ll lay the points with the road team.
