Baltimore Ravens vs Las Vegas Raiders 09/13/2021 NFL Odds, Preview, and Pick

The Baltimore Ravens open their 2021 campaign with a road trip to play against the Los Angeles Raiders in an All-AFC showdown at the latter’s Death Star – the Allegiant Stadium.

Baltimore regressed a bit last season, going 11-5 after leading the league with a 14-2 record in 2019. The Ravens finished second in the AFC North made the playoffs and made it to the Divisional Round where they lost to the Buffalo Bills. On the other hand, the Raiders are coming off an 8-8 campaign where they were second in the AFC West. However, Las Vegas missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

The Ravens are 3-2 on the road against the Raiders, including a win in the 2000 AFC title game but this is their first game in Las Vegas. Baltimore has won the last two meetings between these two teams. However, the victories came in way back in 2017 and 2018.

Baltimore had a stand-out defense last season as they conceded only 18.9 points per game last season. While they will surely miss Peters this season, the Ravens have a deep and talented secondary which will make them remain one of the best defensive units in the league this season.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are out to regain the AFC North title from the Pittsburgh Steelers who took it from them last season. Baltimore is one of the early Super Bowl LVI favorites as they have the sixth-best odds at +1600. But if the Ravens are to win it all this season, they will have to do so without Marcus Peters, J.K. Dobbins, Justice Hill, and Gus Edwards who all suffered season-ending injuries over the past week.

Lamar Jackson had another impressive season in 2020, completing 64.4% of his passes for 2,757 passing yards with 6 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions. Jackson also rushed for a team-high 1,005 yards with seven rushing scores. Meanwhile, Marquise Brown led the Ravens with 769 receiving yards and 8 TD passes caught.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders missed the postseason for the third consecutive campaign. Las Vegas finished with an even 8-8 record and were second in the AFC West. With head coach John Gruden coming back for the fourth straight season, the Raiders hope that the continuity will finally pay off this year. However, Las Vegas will have to be more consistent and beat the teams they are supposed to beat if they want to have a chance at making the playoffs.

Derek Carr is coming off a season where he completed 67.3% of his passes for 4,103 passing yards with 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Josh Jacobs had 1,065 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns to lead the Raiders. Darren Waller led the team with 1,196 receiving yards with nine touchdowns.

Las Vegas was one of the NFL’s worst defensive teams last season as they allowed their opponents to score an average of 29.9 points per game. Because of that, they used five of seven picks in the 2021 NFL Draft to shore up their defense.

Who Wins?

Baltimore is 6-1 SU in their last seven games played. The Ravens are 1-4 SU in their last five games against the AFC West. Las Vegas is 2-5 SU in their last seven games played. The Raiders are 4-2 SU in their last six games against the AFC North.

Head to head, the Ravens are 12-3 SU in their last 15 games against the Raiders. Baltimore is also 6-2 in their last eight road games played against Las Vegas.

Dobbins’ loss hurts the Ravens’ running attack and will force Jackson to do the running by himself. However, with the Raiders having one of the worst rushing defenses last season, the Ravens should still be able to get away with one here.

Prediction: Baltimore Ravens

Other Bets to Make

The Ravens are 7-1 ATS in their last seven games played overall. Baltimore is 4-1 ATS in their last five games played on the road, 6-0 ATS in their last six games as betting favorites, 5-0 ATS in their last five week 1 games, 5-1 ATS in their last six games against the AFC, 12-5 ATS in their last 17 Monday games, 20-8-1 ATS in their last 29 games played on grass.

The Raiders are 1-5 ATS in their last six games played. Las Vegas is 5-1-1 ATS in their last six Monday games, 4-1 ATS in their last five week 1 games, 1-4 ATS in their last five games played on grass, and 1-4 ATS in their last five games against the AFC.

Head to head the Ravens are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Raiders.

Baltimore is thin at the running back position with Dobbins and Hill out. But then they still have Jackson who led the team in rushing yards last season. The Ravens have one of the top offensive lines in the league last season and against a Raiders defense that wasn’t that good last campaign, they should still be able to move the ball on the ground.

On the other hand, Carr looked comfortable in Gruden’s offense last season but in this game, he will be facing a Ravens defense that ranked in the Top 6 against both the pass and rush.

Even with their injured backs, I expect the Ravens to move the ball as they wish while leaning on their defense to do the rest.

Prediction: Ravens -4

The total has gone under in four out of the last five games played by the Ravens. The under is 6-1 in their last seven games played on the road, 6-3 in their last nine September games, 11-4 in their last 15 games against the AFC, and 5-2 in their last seven Week 1 games played.

The total has gone over in each of the last five games played by the Raiders. The over is 8-0-1 in their last nine games as home betting underdogs, 5-0 in their last five September games, 4-0 in their last four games played on grass, 6-0 in their last six games against the AFC, and 7-1-1 in their last nine games underdogs,

Without Dobbins, Jackson will be forced to throw more in this game and although that’s not his best asset, he will be facing a Las Vegas defense that is improved but it still isn’t that good enough.

Baltimore was one of the highest-scoring teams in the league last season at almost 30 points per game. The Raiders meanwhile averaged 27.1 points per game last campaign and Carr does a fine job moving the ball well.

I think this will be a high-scoring game with Baltimore’s defense coming up with the big stops when needed.

Prediction: Over 50

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