To quote the great Charlie Brown, “Good Grief!” That sums up yesterday for most NFL fans. The reports are still coming in, but at least three players tore their ACL yesterday. Not only are the injuries bad for their NFL teams and fantasy owners, but also gamblers.
Hopefully, tonight we get a healthy game between the New Orleans Saints and the Las Vegas Raiders. This game will be the first in the brand new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. While we hope the injury bug stays away, the Saints will be without star wide receiver Michael Thomas. He suffered a high ankle sprain last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and ruled out for the game over the weekend. For gamblers, their only rooting interest is whatever will lead to money in their pocket. However, which bets should they place from tonight’s game? Here are five bets gamblers should consider placing.
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Drew Brees over 1.5 Passing Touchdowns (-125)
While Brees will be without Thomas for tonight’s game, he still should throw at least two touchdown passes against an awful Raider secondary. Last week, the Raiders allowed Teddy Bridgewater to throw for over 260 yards and a touchdown. Obviously, Brees is 100 times the quarterback Bridgewater is. Furthermore, Brees threw two or more touchdowns in 80 percent of the games he finished last season. The Saints have plenty of other weapons beside Thomas on offense so expect Brees to throw at least two touchdowns tonight.
Josh Jacobs Over 16.5 Rushing Attempts (-121)
The Raiders offense runs through Jacobs. Last week against the Carolina Panthers, Jacobs had 25 rushing attempts for 93 yards and three touchdowns. While he won’t put up three touchdowns against a good Saints’ run defense, he should see a similar number of carries tonight. The only other two Raiders to have a carry last week were Devontae Booker and Henry Ruggs, who combined for six carries. For the Raiders to have any chance at winning this game, they need to control the time of possession, and the best way to do that is by running the ball. Jacobs should have his 17th carry before the start of the fourth quarter.
Jared Cook to Score an Anytime Touchdown (+140)
As I wrote about in my Best Prop Bet from Every NFL Week 2 article, the Raiders will try to do everything to stop Alvin Kamara. With Kamara getting all the defense’s attention, Brees will look elsewhere. Emmanuel Sanders should step up with Thomas out of the lineup, but when the Saints get down in the red zone, Cook is the guy they target. Last season, his first in New Orleans, Cook had a career-high nine touchdowns. Gamblers can bank on Cook to score at least once tonight against an awful Raider defense.
Darren Waller Over 4.5 Receptions (-155)
Other than Jacobs, the Raiders’ offense rolls through Waller. Last week against the Panthers, Waller led the team with six catches for 45 yards. The Saints will be focused on slowly down Jacobs and trying to stop Ruggs from beating them deep. Meanwhile, Derek Carr trusts Waller as his security blanket as he had 117 targets, almost twice as many as anyone else on the team. For Waller to get at least 4.5 catches appears as easy as taking candy from a baby. Waller pulls in his fifth catch before the start of the fourth quarter tonight.
Tre’Quan Smith to Score an Anytime Touchdown (+1600)
The only time Smith has every caught two touchdowns in a game was on Monday night football in 2018 against Washington. However, Smith has caught a touchdown in 33.3 percent of his career games. At +1600, this price is a steal, especially when they have it priced at +1800 for two touchdowns. With Thomas out and Raiders focused on Sanders, look for Brees to take a few shots downfield to Smith. The Raiders have several rookie or second-year cornerbacks, and the Saints should look to set them up on a few double moves. Without a doubt, this is the best risk/reward payout prop of the game.
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