Betting Preview
Game Details
- Matchup: Las Vegas Raiders at Detroit Lions
- Date: Monday, Oct. 30 (Week 8)
- Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
- Location: Ford Field (Detroit)
Odds Summary
- Moneyline: Lions -345, Raiders +275
- Spread: Lions -7 (-105), Raiders +7 (-105)
- Total: Over/Under 47 (-110/-110)
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook. Subject to change.
Week 7 was one to forget for the Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) and Detroit Lions (5-2), as both teams lost by double digits.
Las Vegas was playing without starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, so it has a bit of an excuse for its horrendous play. However, the Bears lit up the Raiders’ defense in a 30-12 win, and the team hasn’t been much better offensively. Garoppolo has thrown more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (seven) in five starts thus far.
The Lions are much more likely to bounce back from their 38-6 loss to the Ravens, their worst of the season. Can they also cover a sizable point spread?
Moneyline
Since the Lions’ overtime loss to the Seahawks in Week 2, their season has consisted of dominating opponents week after week. That was until the Ravens slaughtered them in last week’s 32-point loss.
A dominant first drive for Baltimore set the tone early. The Lions could not figure out how to get past the Ravens’ offensive line, which allowed zero sacks and gave Lamar Jackson all day to throw in the pocket. The constant threat of Jackson’s legs also seemed to stifle an indecisive Lions’ secondary, which allowed a season-worst 357 passing yards.
By the end of the game, the Ravens had amassed 503 total yards on offense on 9.1 yards per play. The matchup looked more like a collegiate game between two mismatched teams than a battle between two of the best in their respective conferences.
Expect Detroit to shake off last week’s beatdown. The Lions have an ideal matchup against a Raiders team struggling on the road, ranking sixth-worst in scoring offense (14 PPG) and seventh-worst in scoring defense (27 PPG) in away games.
The Lions enter this week with the second-best offense grade per Pro Football Focus and should be able to take advantage of the Raiders’ shoddy defense in an easy win.
Point Spread
Even though Detroit finished with just six points last week, it still tallied 337 total yards of offense. There were opportunities for the Lions to punch the ball into the end zone, but they couldn’t execute.
Meanwhile, Garoppolo and the Raiders have not been able to gain traction offensively.
The Raiders have only scored more than 20 points once this season (21 points versus the Patriots). But even in that game, they reached the end zone just once. That came at home against a two-win New England team with the eighth-worst defense grade and sixth-worst coverage grade per PFF.
Detroit could run away with this game en route to a double-digit victory.
Over/Under
The Over/Under for this bout rests at 47 points. The Raiders have cashed the Over twice in their four road games but have gone Under in four of their last five overall. Meanwhile, Detroit has gone Over in two of its three home games thus far.
The Raiders’ road play is concerning. They only average 14 points and 2.9 yards per carry away from home. Meanwhile, Detroit has an exceptional run defense that allows just 3.3 yards per carry on its home turf.
This matchup could hardly be worse for Las Vegas, as it is bound to crash and burn in the ground game – forcing Garoppolo to march the ball down the field in a way he’s struggled to do all season.
It would be shocking to see the Raiders score more than two touchdowns in this game, leaving Detroit to score 30-plus in order to cash the Over. The Lions can hang a large number on Las Vegas, but it’s more likely that they’ll build a sizable lead and then run the clock by pounding the ball with rookie Jahmyr Gibbs.
Player Prop
Speaking of Gibbs, the rookie rusher was the lone bright light in an otherwise gloomy Week 7 loss to Baltimore. The first-round back picked up 126 yards from scrimmage last week against the Ravens defense, which ranks first overall in scoring (13.9 PPG), third in PFF’s defense grade and ninth in rushing yards allowed per game (95.7).
This week, Gibbs’ rushing yards player prop line holds steady at 64.5 yards, and we’re backing the Over.
With David Montgomery (rib) out for this matchup, Gibbs is in line to be the lead back for this Lions offense for the second consecutive week. His Week 7 outing was promising, as this is what everyone had been expecting out of the speedy rookie.
Now, instead of going up against one of the best defenses in the NFL, Gibbs faces a Raiders front allowing 4.4 yards per rush overall and 4.6 yards per carry on the road.
In the two games that Gibbs has secured double-digit carries, he has rushed for at least 68 yards in both contests, and he managed 11 carries last week even with a negative game script working against him.
He saw 17 carries in the team’s blowout win over the Falcons earlier this year, and the Lions should be able to build a similar early lead in this one. That’ll give Gibbs plenty of opportunities to bleed the clock against the Raiders, which will help him surpass this rushing prop total.
Photo by Brad Mangin /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
