Monday Night Football Prediction: Los Angeles Rams vs Oakland Raiders, 9–10–2018
Free NFL Spread Pick by Tim Harris of Oddsboard.com
Los Angeles Rams vs Oakland Raiders
Monday, September 10th, 10:20 pm EST
NFL Odds: Raiders +4.5, 47.5
Los Angeles Rams
After watching Sunday Night Football, Jarred Goff and the LA Rams are wiping their brow and taking a big sigh of relief that they don’t have to face Khalil Mack with the Raiders. Tonight, we get a double dose of Monday Night Football and the second game of the doubleheader will feature the Los Angeles Rams and the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Coliseum.
The Rams were one game away from the NFC Championship in 2017 but lost to Atlanta at home. Third-year QB Jared Goff should take a big step forward this season after throwing for 3800 yards, 28 TD’s and 7 INT in 2017. A big reason for Goff’s success is due to RB Todd Gurley who rushed for 1300 yards and 13 touchdowns and caught 6 TD’s. Gurley is one of the most dynamic running backs in the NFL and he keeps the defense honest.
The Rams made a splash in the offseason on the defensive side of the ball, adding defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, along with Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. It may take some time for this defense to gel but by the end of the season, they should be one of the best in football.
Rams Betting Trends
- Rams are 5–2 ATS in their last 7 road games
- Rams are 4–13 ATS in their last 17 games in Week 1
- Rams are 4–0 ATS in their last 4 meetings
Oakland Raiders
The second Jon Gruden era will kick off tonight as “Chucky” will be back on the sidelines for the first time in ten years. The Raiders traded away perhaps the best defensive player in the NFL, Khalil Mack. Mack was holding out for a new contract and the Raiders were not willing to cave. What a mistake. The Raiders allocated $100 million to head coach Jon Gruden for the next decade. Ironically they weren’t ready to hand over the same kind of money to Mack, who has arguably become one of the top defenders in the entire NFL.
Derek Carr passed for 3,496 yards and 22 touchdowns last year to join Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 3,000 yards and 20 scores in each of their first four seasons. Carr lost one of his favorite targets in Michael Crabtree but gained a new one in Jordy Nelson, who was signed to a two-year contract in March after being released by Green Bay.
The Oakland defense will now have to compensate for the void left by Mack. Oaklands Rush Defense ranked 12th last season but Mack was a big contributor to stuffing the run. The Oakland defense is a big question mark entering this game.
Raiders Betting Trends
- Raiders are 4–1–1 ATS in their last 6 Monday games
- Raiders are 3–9–2 ATS in their last 14 games overall
Rams vs Raiders Betting Prediction
The Rams have covered the spread in four straight games vs the Raiders and I don’t see this trend changing after tonight’s game. The Raiders may need a feeling out process for the team to get used to Jon Gruden and the absence of Khalil Mack. The Rams had a championship caliber team last season and they made some big acquisitions to their defense. The Rams first team didn’t get many snaps in the offseason, so expect some rust, but in the end, the Rams will be too much for the Raiders. I think laying -4.5 with Los Angeles is the move in this matchup.
NFL Pick: Los Angeles Rams -4.5
