We are less than three weeks away now from the start of the NFL season, and until we get there, we have to settle for some preseason action. I don’t bet a ton of these, but there are some opportunities for us to grab some cash. Game plans are discussed, personnel is announced, and coaches openly (most of the time) share who will play in the game and for how long. That doesn’t always mean anything, but it does at least give us a bit more information. We have two games on the slate tonight, and I think it is worth putting a bet on both.
On the surface, these are two very different teams. The Raiders come in searching for a path to the postseason after years of missing out and having dysfunctional teams. They owned the No. 1 draft pick and took Fernando Mendoza in the draft. He looked really sharp in his preseason game. A couple of the throws that he had were absolute darts. He went 10-for-16 overall for 97 yards and a touchdown. He scrambled a bit as well, running twice for six yards. Aidan O’Connell got the remainder of the work, throwing 13 times. Kirk Cousins was the first quarterback for the team, and he looked excellent in his work, going 5-for-6 for 50 yards and a touchdown. This Raiders offense looks like it could be dynamic this season.
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However, they are going against a team that went to the postseason last year and has one of the best defenses in all of football. I like the Houston Texans, but they really didn’t do anything to address their biggest need, their offensive line. PFF has them ranked at 27th coming into this year. Meanwhile, the defensive line is ranked second. The lines may not matter all that much here, as head coach DeMeco Ryans has said most of his starters will rest tonight. That means we won’t see CJ Stroud for the second straight game. Davis Mills has been solid in relief, and I think he should be good again.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see this being a bit lower scoring. The Raiders haven’t announced much about their starters. They are missing a few key players, and that might slow the offense a bit. Couple that with going against a tough defense, and I think this will be a lower-scoring game. I will stay away from the under, because even in preseason, there isn’t much room for error here. Instead, I’m banking on the Raiders in the first half of the game. I’ll take them to be in the lead at halftime. I think their combination of quarterbacks should be able to make more progress than what the Texans have to offer.
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Both coaches gave us a little bit of help in this game. For the Chargers, we know that Justin Herbert and the first-team will get some time on the field. I personally like this, as he should get used to Mike McDonald’s schemes. The Chargers have plenty of talent and should make some progress down the field. After Herbert is out, expect to see Trey Lance and DJ Uiagalelei taking snaps. Lance was fine in his action, but Uiagalelei looked strong in his time on the field.
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The 49ers are also going to have their starters get some snaps tonight. Brock Purdy will be on the field, but a lot of other guys won’t be out there. Christian McCaffrey, for example, is nursing an injury, so that dynamic player will be gone from the backfield. Instead, they will give most of the action to Kaelon Black. Expect them to have a lot of action from their draft picks. Adrian Martinez is likely to get the majority of snaps, as he did in the first game. They asked him to throw 30 times, but I don’t expect that to happen again.
I think this is a game we see a bit more action, but you have two strong defenses on the field. In a game like this, I think we have some tightly contested play. We should have one drive from both clubs, with a second likely going into the second quarter. I like the first quarter tie at +285 as the action for this. I think it is worth taking a small shot at it.
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