Devise for both teams: avoid a false start!

In week two of the NFL, two teams meet in the “City of Sin” that each suffered a defeat on the first day of play. Thus, for both franchises, a sense of achievement is necessary on the upcoming gameday to avoid a false start. The home side are the clear favourites, so a bet on a home win in the best-case scenario in the Raiders vs. Cardinals clash will only bring odds of 1.45.

The Las Vegas Raiders lost the divisional duel against the Chargers by a narrower margin than was to be expected in the run-up. The main problem was that playmaker Derek Carr was under pressure too often. This is shown on the one hand by the six sacks Carr had to take and on the other hand by his three interceptions.

The Cardinals were dismantled by the Kansas City Chiefs in their own stadium and disappointed all along the line. On both offence and defence, they were never a match for the 2020 Super Bowl champions. A bright spot for the upcoming duel could be the return of a key kick-off station.

Las Vegas Raiders – stats & current form

The Raiders find themselves in arguably the strongest division in the entire NFL this year. That’s because in addition to the Chiefs, the AFC West includes the Chargers and Broncos. Between seasons, all teams upgraded tremendously and so did Las Vegas. The trade for Davante Adams was a blockbuster move and it bore fruit in the first game. Adams caught ten passes from Carr for 141 yards and one for a touchdown against LA.

Weakness Offensive Line

However, the Raiders lacked answers to their opponents’ strong quarterback in half time one and were well behind at the break. Adjustments at halftime ensured that their own defence was able to hold the Chargers to seven points in the second. That was the cornerstone for the chase to catch up, which could not be crowned in the end, however. Partly responsible for this was the weak offensive line, which was too rarely able to protect playmaker Carr.

Apart from the fact that he generally had a bad game, the circumstances were not easy for him either, because on the Chargers’ side the newly assembled defence shone and made life difficult for him. They provoked, as already mentioned, three interceptions and brought him down half a dozen times.

The Raiders became predictable offensively because Carr looked for Adams in almost every important situation. He threw the ball a total of 37 times and 45% of those passes were trying to reach his new number one receiver. In addition, the running game was hardly a factor and only 64 rushing yards were recorded.

In the Raiders vs. Cardinals duel, our prediction is that both the running and passing game should work better. The visitors’ defence will probably continue to be missing superstar JJ Watt, which is a huge weakening.

Key Players:
QB: Derek Carr
RB: Josh Jacobs
WR: Davante Adams
TE: Darren Waller
K: Daniel Carson

Arizona Cardinals – Statistics & current form

One of the disappointments of the first day of play was three of the four NFC West teams and among them were the Arizona Cardinals. They couldn’t find a way against an MVP-ready Patrick Mahomes and his new-look offense. But it wasn’t just their own weakened defence that was a problem, as prominent absences on offence also troubled the Cardinals.

Missing key personnel

In addition to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was suspended for taking illegal substances, Rondale Moore, who is another important playmaker for playmaker Kyler Murray, was also out due to injury. However, according to the forecast, he seems to be able to play again in the Raiders vs. Cardinals duel and that would be of enormous importance for his quarterback.

In game one after signing his new contract, he threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns, which can definitely be called solid. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury had also been incorporating running plays into the offense for him. That will likely continue to be a part of the offensive identity as long as the offense can’t field its best lineup.

Defensively, as previously written, JJ Watt will likely continue to be absent, making it difficult for the defence to pressure the opposing quarterback. In week one against Arizona, Chiefs playmaker Mahomes regularly had too much time to get the pass to the receiver. That, in turn, ensured that Chiefs pass receivers could regularly beat the Cardinals’ sparse defence one-on-one. Now that defense must get a handle on Davante Adams, considered one of the best receivers in the entire NFL.

Key Players:
QB: Kyler Murray
RB: James Conner
WR: Rondale Moore
TE: Zach Ertz
K: Matt Prater

Las Vegas Raiders – Arizona Cardinals Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

Barely 400 km separate the two cities of Las Vegas and Glendale (Arizona) and yet the two franchises have only met ten times since 1973. The reason for this is that they belong to the different conferences AFC and NFC respectively. Strictly speaking, the two teams have never faced each other, at least under their current names. The last time it was Raiders vs. Cardinals was in 2018, and betting on the underdog, which was still based in Oakland at the time, would have paid off. Overall, the Black and Silvers lead the series with 6-4 victories.

In the last two duels, Derek Carr has been quarterback for the Raiders. His record against Arizona is even, with one win and one loss. He has yet to throw an interception against the Birds.

Due to the infrequency of meetings, previous games are hardly a guide for the upcoming Las Vegas Raiders vs. Arizona Cardinals clash.

Las Vegas Raiders – Arizona Cardinals Tip

The Raiders found their groove after the half against the Chargers, so we think their upcoming performance will look better from the start. For the Cardinals, 14 of their 21 points scored came after the Chiefs already led by 30 points in some cases. Nevertheless, the betting odds between the Raiders and Cardinals are too clear-cut for us. The probability of a win for the home side settles at 68%.

We are leaning towards the total points given out not being reached in the match. Both offensive lines have not yet been completely convincing and the Las Vegas defence in particular improved noticeably in the first game.

Last but not least, we do not see the duel as clear as the bookmakers estimate. With the offered handicap of +5.5 points, we tend more towards a success for the visitors.