Oakland Raiders Early Vegas Underdogs In 15 2015 Games
By Chase Ruttig
Dec 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) walks off the field after the Raiders defeated the Buffalo Bills 26-24 at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Last season the Oakland Raiders drew little respect from the oddsmakers in Vegas, failing to be favored in any of their 16 games during the regular season. Underdogs of a field goal or more in every game, the Raiders did make those who bet against them pay at times with a .500 record against the spread, but they ultimately did not do enough to be betting favorites at any point as they were +7 underdogs at home even after rattling off two straight wins at Oakland Coliseum when they took on the Buffalo Bills in Week 16.
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Apparently that 8-8 ATS record as underdogs last year was not enough for the oddsmakers to give the Raiders early respect when putting out their opening lines for all 17 weeks of the 2015 NFL season this week. Listing the Raiders as underdogs in 15 out of 16 games for 2015 as of late April, their home clash against the New York Jets being a Pick ‘Em spread to avoid another year of season long underdog status based on the opening lines.
Covers.com listed the lines for all 16 Raiders games on Monday, putting Oakland as underdogs even against fellow struggling teams from the 2014 season. Cleveland, Tennessee, and Minnesota all favored to beat the Raiders as of the opening lines.
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Of course these opening betting lines will change quickly over the course of the offseason and throughout the season, a couple early wins or early losses surely to change the thoughts of the oddsmakers come the Fall. Whether or not the Raiders can earn enough respect to be favored in some games in 2015 is up to their play during the season, but it is a safe bet that if all goes well there will be a few home games where Oakland get the respect of oddsmakers by being listed as favorites if they can rack up early season wins at the Coliseum.
The Raiders opening lines are as follows as per Covers:
Bengals at Raiders (+3.5)
Ravens at Raiders (+5)
Raiders at Browns (-4.5)
Raiders at Bears (-6)
Broncos at Raiders (+6.5)
Raiders at Chargers (-8)
Jets at Raiders (Pick’em)
Raiders at Steelers (-9.5)
Vikings at Raiders (+1.5)
Raiders at Lions (-8.5)
Raiders at Titans (-2)
Chiefs at Raiders (+3.5)
Raiders at Broncos (-10.5)
Packers at Raiders (+7)
Chargers at Raiders (+3.5)
Agree? Disagree? Let us know which games you think that Oakland will cover in below in the comments.