Vikings-Raiders Preview: Which of These Funky Teams Can We Trust?
Hard to Expect Anything From These Subpar Squads
Vikings Favored by a Field Goal Against Raiders
One team has question marks at quarterback, and the other is coming off a bye. Minnesota is the former and due to Joshua Dobbs’ horrible performance in a loss to Chicago, he’s questionable to return as the starting quarterback. Las Vegas, on the other hand, has lost two straight but looked good in parts of these games. With Minnesota favored by three, we try to unearth the better team to bet in this Vikings-Raiders preview.
Minnesota Vikings (6-6), Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
Date, time:
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Streaming: Live Sports Stream
In Dobbs We Trust?
Joshua Dobbs went from a quarterback messiah to the scapegoat in a week. Just when it looked like his feel-good story would never end, he threw it all away. He threw four, in fact: four interceptions. Minnesota lost 12-10 to Chicago, which marked its second straight by under three points.
Still, as bad as Dobbs looked, Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed that the team will stick with him.
“It’s good to go back over my tape from my first four weeks here and the rest of the tape from the beginning of the season,” Dobbs said. “See the areas I’ve done well at, see how I can improve, and, ultimately, see how I can give us the best chance to go out and win on Sunday.”
Dobbs will have help in the form of star receiver Justin Jefferson. The three-time Pro Bowler has been on the NFL injury report since after Week 5. The team’s best offensive player was averaging over seven catches and 114 receiving yards before he got hurt.
With Jefferson’s return, the Vikings’ lines, including their Super Bowl odds, could be slightly shortened. The team is also just 3-2 against the spread (ATS) as a favorite. And Dobbs will need all the help he can get against Las Vegas’s defense.
The Raiders rank in the upper half of the NFL against passing save for one: net yards gained per attempt, where they rank 20th with 6.2. The team is also ranked 27th in red zone conversion rate at 63.9%. That means this team is prone to giving up big plays that can lead to a touchdown.
Raiders are the “Mid” Team
Judging by their last four games, the Raiders look to be flat in the middle. This team took out the New York teams but lost to Miami and Kansas City. Sense a pattern? Las Vegas briefly saw an improvement in its nerfed offense by trouncing the Giants 30-6. This is the most the team scored all NFL season. Then the Raiders failed to hit the 20-point mark as they’ve done in almost every game.
The total is set at just 40 points for a reason. The Raiders average 19.8 points at home and the Vikings give up 19.8 points on the road. Six of Las Vegas’s last seven home games have gone under the total. And eight of Minnesota’s last 10 have as well. However, the last two times Minnesota had a total of 40.5 or lower, the total went over. These were Dobbs’s first two games as a Viking.
Now, the Vikings’ top-10 road defense can look even better against the Raiders’ tepid offense. Aidan O’Connell has thrown four touchdowns against six interceptions in his five starts. He did look good against Kansas City where he completed 69.7% of his throws for 248 yards, a TD, and a 101.6 passer rating. But Las Vegas still failed to cover the spread.
Las Vegas would be better than a 5-7 team if it got something going from its offense. But it’s Week 14 and so far nada. Thus, this Vikings-Raiders preview expects something similar. Las Vegas is just 3-4-0 ATS as an underdog. This team is not good.
