OVER Trend Follows Raiders into Atlanta’s Dome

The Las Vegas Raiders (6-4) are listed as road favorites for the third time this season as they prepare to visit the Atlanta Falcons (3-7) on Sunday. The Raiders are coming off a tough 35-31 setback to the Kansas City Chiefs but covered the spread as 7.5-point home underdogs on Sunday Night Football. Earlier in the day, the Falcons fell to the New Orleans Saints sans Drew Brees 24-9 as 3.5-point road dogs for their first loss in three games.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Instant reaction to Sunday night’s close loss is that Las Vegas went toe to toe with the defending Super Bowl champions and came up just short. This week’s game was closer to a pick’em opener at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark before the Raiders turned in an impressive showing on national television, and bettors should probably be a little leery of a letdown in this spot on the road against an inferior opponent. That said, Atlanta had an opportunity to beat New Orleans last week too and could not generate anything more than three first-half field goals in its loss. Early betting has seen Las Vegas go up to -3, but the total dropping a point down to 55 is a bit of a mystery with two suspect defenses.

Las Vegas News & Notes

Last year around this time, this team was in an identical position at 6-4 and went on to lose five of six down the stretch in its final year in Oakland.

This year feels different with the relocation to Vegas and new life for quarterback Derek Carr, but the Raiders need to be careful not to be too proud of their accomplishments so far in a crowded AFC playoff picture. They are currently sitting in the last playoff spot in the conference despite losing to the Chiefs, and a loss here could push them out with five games remaining.

That said, this is a winnable game if the defense can play better and make stops when it matters. The good news is the Falcons have struggled offensively, unlike the Raiders’ last opponent.

Atlanta News & Notes

Atlanta hosts Las Vegas in between two meetings with New Orleans, so it is hard to figure out what the team’s mentality will be here. The Falcons have very little to play for at this point in the season and may have trouble getting extra motivated for the Raiders.

Then again, they might also look at this as their best chance to get another home victory with the Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to town in their last two games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Regardless, Atlanta must do a better job protecting quarterback Matt Ryan, who was sacked eight times by New Orleans. Las Vegas does not have the same caliber of defense, so Ryan will need to make plays to keep his team in this one.

Betting Pick: OVER 55