The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams participated in two joint practices this week and aren’t through with each other yet, as they square off during Week 2 of the NFL preseason on Saturday.
Looking at the NFL odds, Vegas is favored to go into SoFi and pick up a road victory — and to win by margin.
While that line may seem surprising to some, a closer look at how both respective coaches handle preseason dress rehearsals is worthwhile as it reveals some important trends.
Check out if I’m supporting those trends or not with my best bet, and read on for my full NFL picks and predictions for Raiders vs Rams on Saturday, August 19.
Raiders vs Rams odds
Raiders vs Rams predictions
The Raiders took the preseason seriously a year ago, notching a perfect 4-0 record. That starkly contrasts with their regular season effort, which resulted in a 6-11 showing. Fast forward to this season and Josh McDaniels’ squad yet again looked sharp in tune-up duty in a blowout 34-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of the preseason.
Fourth-round draft pick Aidan O’Connell got the majority of quarterback reps and looked sharp, completing 15 of 18 attempts for 141 yards and a touchdown and no interceptions. He was PFF’s fourth-highest graded rookie around the league in Week 1, notching a 90.8 passing grade while averaging 7.8 yards per attempt.
While his selection in the draft may have seemed surprising at the time, he looked like a terrific fit for McDaniels’ offense.
Former Cal Bear Chase Garbers was the only other signal caller to throw a pass, completing three of his five attempts for 11 yards and a touchdown.
Sean McVay has hesitated to play his starters during preseason action, so fans shouldn’t expect big names like Cooper Kupp or Aaron Donald to get in on the action. McVay is just 7-12 in preseason action, including a 1-6 record since 2021.
The Rams fell utterly flat as a short favorite against the Chargers in Week 1, losing by a score of 34-17.
Georgia rookie Stetson Bennett saw the overwhelming majority of snaps at quarterback, completing 17 of 29 attempts for 191 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. He was sacked three times, though, and averaged 6.6 yards per attempt.
Brett Rypien saw limited action, completing three of six attempts for 11 yards.
Not much is expected from either side during the regular season. The Raiders are the consensus choice to finish last in the AFC West after showing few positives a year ago and losing notable names like Derek Carr and Darren Waller. The Rams have a win total of just 6.5 after presumably bottoming out at 5-12 a year ago.
What we have here is two bad teams, but two head coaches that approach these dress rehearsals in a much different manner. McDaniels clearly values the preseason, as the Raiders are undefeated at 5-0 under his guise. McVay has shown utter contempt for these exhibitions, and that’s understandable considering many of the Rams’ regulars are veterans who one wouldn’t expect to see during the preseason anyway.
Most of the Rams’ losses during their 1-6 preseason stretch haven’t been particularly close, either. The spread is currently set at -3.5 in favor of Vegas, which seems to be on the number, as the Rams have lost five straight preseason games by four points or more. Their average margin of defeat in that span is 7.8 points.
The discrepancy between how these two head coaches treat the preseason could not be wider, and therefore I’m going to ride the Raiders in preseason games until they show any signs of faltering.
My best bet: Raiders -3.5 (-110 at bet365)
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