Weekend Sports Gambler: Raiders Put Three-Game Cover Streak On The Line Vs. Saints Sunday
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If you’re scoring at home, that’s now three straight covers (and two wins) for the Las Vegas Raiders.
And if you’ve been parlaying your winnings since the Raiders beat the Broncos (and covered), 32-23 way back in Week 4, you’re in tall cotton indeed.
Now what?
The Silver and Black (now 2-4 but 0-3 on the road) face the New Orleans Saints (2-5 and 1-2 at home). On paper, it looks like another battle between two teams trying to escape mediocrity and move up the ladder. In reality, well, it still looks like two teams trying to escape mediocrity and move up the ladder.
The Raiders are -1.5 with the total at 49.5, indicating oddsmakers expect another score like 25-24 and hang onto your helmet in the fourth quarter for turnovers or unusual plays. When they last met in 2020 at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas won, 34-24.
However, in their last three games, the Raiders have averaged 33 points per game.
At Covers.com, some 66 percent of the betting action is on the Raiders.
“We want to be a tough, physical team,” Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels told reporters. “There’s no shortcut to that. … You can’t just say we’re going to be a tough team and then all of a sudden that happens. That’s all about work and you earn that. You earned the right to be a tough team with what you do during the week.”
Fair enough. We’ll see if the tough physical team or whether it’s another team in silver and black uniforms with their shirts untucked that shows up at Caesars Superdome on Sunday.
Kickoff is at 10 a.m., the same time as the kickoff for seven other games involving teams trying to escape mediocrity and move up the ladder.
Elsewhere:
— (Late) Fall Classic: The World Series finally gets underway Friday with the Houston Astros hosting Las Vegas product Bryce Harper & Co., also known as the Philadelphia Phillies. Because of labor issues and the season’s late start, it’s possible the Series could extend into November.
Houston is a -172 favorite in Game 1 with the total at 6.5.
At Bet MGM, Houston is also a -190 favorite to win the series. The Phillies are +155 on the buyback. At one point, the Phillies were as high as +3000 to win the World Series.
Both teams, of course, are hot. The Phillies are on an 8-2 run, and the Astros, having swept the Mariners and the Yankees, are 9-1 in their last 10 games.
“He’s waaaaay different now,” teammate Ryan Howard said of Harper to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s embraced the entire situation, and the only focus is on winning a championship.”
First pitch is at 5:03 p.m.
— Fast-starting Golden Knights: The Vegas Golden Knights are off to a 6-2 start and still on top of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. They next face the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Since the Ducks are the owners of an undistinguished 1-5-1 mark, it’s no surprise the VGK are huge favorites. Expect to pay -275 on the money line and around -115 on the puck line. (The VGK are also 6-2 on the puck line.) The total is generally 6.5.
“We’ve got two lines now, if they’re going offensively, they can be really dangerous,” coach Bruce Cassidy said after a 4-2 win over San Jose on Tuesday.
The puck drop at T-Mobile Arena is at 3 p.m.
— Fast-fading Rebels: The UNLV football Rebel, after a 4-1 start, have slumped to 4-4 although they did cover +26.5 in a 44-21 loss to Notre Dame.
Next up is a trip to San Diego State on Nov. 5 with respectability and bowl eligibility on the line and three games after those that will determine their fate.
“We’re in the middle of a heavyweight fight. You’re going to take some blows. You have to be able to get up and fight back,” coach Marcus Arroyo told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Meanwhile, the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels of the basketball variety open their season on Nov. 7 vs. Southern University.
— Close cover: Rice defeated Louisiana Tech in overtime last week, 42-41. But it was Louisiana Tech, at +2.5, that walked away with the cover. Sooooo close.
— Play of the Week (5-3): We sustained a loss last week when Maryland defeated Northwestern, 31-24, but never seriously threatened covering -14. That drops our season record to 5-3. This week, we like Illinois -7.5 vs. Nebraska.
