Each NFL season has its own story and uniqueness. Discovering it is part of the fun, but it can also be a point of contention when you’re a sports bettor. You don’t have a ton of time to determine who is a good team and who is bad. You have to constantly evaluate and change your opinions on things. I’ve already changed my opinion on both of these teams – the Raiders and the Saints, and now they face each other in Week 3.
The Las Vegas Raiders cost me some money last week, or maybe I should say the Chargers cost me money once again. After backing them in Week 1, I took the Chargers to beat them in Week 2 and cover the spread. The Raiders looked like a fairly well-oiled machine against Los Angeles, getting three touchdown passes from Kirk Cousins on 19-for-29 passing. Part of the key for the Raiders will be keeping Cousins upright, and he was only sacked twice.
The other key to the Raiders’ success is getting Ashton Jeanty to effectively run the ball. What I liked about the Raiders game is that despite him not having a very good game, they stuck with it. Jeanty had just 48 yards on 21 attempts. He did haul in four of his seven targets, but added just 15 yards. Before we crown the Raiders as being elite, let’s realize that the Chargers were also part of their problem. Sure, some of this can be attributed to Las Vegas, but Los Angeles fumbling six times was also ridiculous.
The New Orleans Saints have put together some decent games to start their season. They almost came back and beat the Lions in Week 1 after bringing them to overtime. In the first two quarters of the season, the Saints scored zero total points. Since about the middle of the third quarter of that game, they have scored 54 points. All of their touchdowns have come through the air as well, relying on Tyler Shough to lead the way.
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
If you want to get even more granular with the team, to see where the struggles and successes have been, let’s take a look at Week 2. The Saints have scored six total points in the first half of the two games. In the fourth quarter and overtime, they’ve scored 40 points. Maybe it is Shough taking too long to figure out opposing defenses. Maybe there is some other reason, but they are playing with fire by waiting until the last quarter to try and come back.
The Saints have played two rather difficult teams and now get to play at home. The Raiders had an easy game to open the season, and their second game wasn’t exactly a challenge considering how bad the Chargers look. Again, some of that was certainly self-inflicted, but I don’t want to take a ton away from the Raiders. I just don’t think this is a great situation for the Raiders. I don’t think their offense will be able to be quite as effective in this one. I like the Saints to win and cover the -3 spread.
SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTER
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
