Sharp bettors fade side in Raiders-Browns game in Sanders’ 1st start

Fading Shedeur Sanders.

That’s what sharp bettors are doing this week in backing the Raiders, who opened as 3-point favorites over the Browns on Tuesday morning after getting crushed by the Cowboys on “Monday Night Football.”

The Raiders were quickly bet up to 3½-point favorites and then to -4 on Wednesday, as pro bettors faded Cleveland’s rookie quarterback in his first career start Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.

“The second that line went up at 3, the professionals couldn’t lay 3 fast enough,” Westgate SuperBook vice president of risk Ed Salmons said.

Sanders, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, his coach at Colorado, was selected by the Browns in the fifth round of April’s NFL draft with the 144th overall pick.

He saw his first action of the season in last week’s 23-16 loss to the Ravens. After replacing fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who left with a concussion, Sanders completed 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards and an interception and was sacked twice.

“The media told us for a year he was a first-round pick, a top-five pick, a top-10 pick,” Salmons said. “Each NFL team passed on him for the first four rounds. The professional bettors don’t like him, and the teams don’t like him. No one likes him except for the media who made him out to be this first-round pick.”

The betting public likes him a little bit in this matchup of 2-8 teams. At STN Sports, 56 percent of the tickets are on the Browns, while at BetMGM 53 percent of the wagers are on Cleveland and 53 percent of the money is on the Raiders.

“More money is starting to show on the Raiders,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “My guess is we’re going to be Browns fans at kickoff, for sure.”

The consensus total has dipped from 37 to 36 for two of the league’s lowest-scoring teams, though the South Point has moved the number back to 37. Cleveland is 29th in the NFL in scoring with 16.2 points per game, and the Raiders are tied for 30th with 15.5 points per game.

Bettors are all over the under at BetMGM, where 79 percent of the tickets and 77 percent of the money are on the under.

The Browns have lost six of seven games while going 2-5 ATS and are on a 4-0 over streak.

The Raiders, dealt a 33-16 defeat by Dallas as 3½-point home underdogs, have lost eight of nine games while going 3-6 ATS. They have gone under in four of their past six games.

“I expect Cleveland to score less than 13 points,” Salmons said. “The Raiders played about as embarrassing a game as you’ll ever see at home. So if you don’t get an A effort from the Raiders this week, you might as well go in and fire the whole team.

“Cleveland, for as well their defense plays at home, it’s a different defense away from home for whatever reason.”

Best bet

Pro sports bettor Chuck Edel, 9-3 against the spread on his best bets in the Review-Journal, made the Raiders his best bet this week. They were still available at -3½ (-114) on Friday at Caesars Sportsbook.

“Hard to see Cleveland scoring many points here,” said Edel (@chuckedel). “The Browns, with a banged-up offensive line and quarterback Shedeur Sanders still learning the NFL game, should fall below their 16.2 points per game average. I like the Raiders to grind them out in a low-scoring game.”

Props

Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty is a -103 favorite at Caesars to score an anytime touchdown and +450 to be the first touchdown scorer. Tight end Brock Bowers is +135 to score a touchdown and +575 to score the first touchdown.

Raiders quarterback Geno Smith is -197 to throw under 1½ touchdown passes and -190 to throw an interception. Sanders is -157 to throw a touchdown pass and -225 to throw an interception.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.