Raiders favored in only few games for upcoming season
The Raiders are favored in only four of 17 games this season in opening lines posted Thursday at STN Sports.
They are favorites in four games at Allegiant Stadium: by 3½ points over the Titans in Week 6, by 1½ over the Jaguars in Week 9, by 3 over the Browns in Week 12 and by 2½ over the Giants in Week 17.
“They are all home games and all against teams that drafted before the Raiders did at No. 6,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said.
The Raiders are underdogs in their other 13 games, though five of them are virtual toss-ups with the line three points or fewer.
The Raiders are 2½-point underdogs to the Patriots in their Sept. 7 season opener at New England. The line is 3 at Caesars Sportsbook and the Westgate SuperBook.
In their Week 2 home opener, they’re 3-point underdogs to the Chargers at Station in the Sept. 15 nightcap of a “Monday Night Football” doubleheader. The line is 2½ at Caesars.
The Raiders are 1-point home underdogs to the Bears in Week 4, 2½-point road underdogs to the Colts in Week 5 and 2½-point home underdogs to the Cowboys in Week 11 on “Monday Night Football.”
“The Raiders have a gauntlet of a schedule early on,” Esposito said. “They open on the East Coast in New England, come back home to play in prime time against the Chargers, then go play on the East Coast again at Washington, come back to play the Bears, then they have to travel to Indy in the Midwest, come back against the Titans and then back to the Midwest to Kansas City.
“Through Week 7, it’s nonstop travel back to either the Midwest or the East Coast before coming back home without multiple weeks in the West or at home. It’s a very tough early schedule for them.”
They’re 3½-point home underdogs to the Broncos in Week 14 and 6-point underdogs at Denver in Week 10 on “Thursday Night Football.”
The Raiders, who went 4-13 last season and 7-9-1 against the spread, have a win total of 6½ (over-150) at Station, 7 (-110) at the Westgate and 7½ (under-130) at Caesars and Circa Sports (under-150).
They’re underdogs of more than seven points in three away games: +7½ at the Commanders in Week 3, +10 at the Chiefs in Week 7 and +10½ at the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in Week 15.
“A lot will change,” Esposito said. “This is just kind of what we see right now. The teams they play could be better or worse. The Raiders could be better or worse. It’s just to start to talk football.”
The Raiders had a 9-8 over-under record last season. Their totals range from a low of 41½ for the Browns game to a high of 47 for the Commanders game.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.