NFL gambling sites favor the Las Vegas Raiders by 3 points over the Carolina Panthers in their 2020 NFL regular season Week 1 game on September 13 at 1:00 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers NFL Week 1 Odds
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | -3 (EV) | 47½ (-115) | -150 |  |
| Panthers | +3 (-120) | 47½ (-105) | +130 | |
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Betting Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are the road favorites according to the best online sportsbooks. The team concluded their training camp on Friday at Allegiant Stadium. The sort of training camp not quite like any other, built around the limitations of the coronavirus pandemic. Bereft of preseason games and of fans. “It’s been one adaptation after another,” head coach Jon Gruden said. “We had to fast-track a lot of these players. And we didn’t even know a lot of these guys.” With training camp completed, Gruden and the Raiders will focus their attention to finalizing the 53-man roster. This must occur by 1 p.m. Saturday. Then they are off to the Sunday, Sept 13, the opening game against the Carolina Panthers.
An upgraded defense has more depth and speed in all three tiers. And there is still room for improvement. Veteran linemen Maliek Collins and Carl Nassib give the Raiders more power across the defensive front. Free-agency signings and three-down linebackers Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski have experience and versatility at the second level. Saturday’s trade for Miami linebacker Raekwon McMillan provides more of the same. Free-agent defensive backs Damarious Randall, Jeff Heath and Prince Amukamara elevate a young secondary centered around Trayvon Mullen, Damon Arnette and Johnathan Abram.
Starting QB Derek Carr is heading into his third year in Gruden’s offense. He is backed by the most complete and talented group of skill position players so far. Second-year running back Josh Jacobs rushed for 1,150 yards last season. He complements Waller and the receiving unit. If it can stay healthy, the offensive line looks to be one better units in the league. Carr has a 39-55 career record as a starter, but he displayed more command and poise in his seventh NFL training camp. He’ll be looking to translate this confidence into the regular season.
Betting Carolina Panthers
The Panthers are the home dogs per NFL gambling sites. Week 4 of training camp came and went. Both players and coaching staff have made a powerful adjustment to team drills in unheard-of circumstances. The high standard of performance has been heartening ahead of the nearing season. Whether this will result in a smooth transition into a for-real in-game environment is a different story. Generating chemistry during training camp is a crucial part of the prepping process. However, with no preseason games on the schedule amid concerns surrounding the coronavirus, it will be trial and error for the Panthers against some the better teams on the schedule.
New head coach Matt Rhule was aware of the task ahead of him when he joined the organization. The man from Baylor is practically starting from square one thanks to an exodus of key figures. Furthermore, the surprise retirement of All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly is another obstacle the team has to get past next season. Having little to no expectations is actually a plus right now. The Panthers are in the first year of what seems to be a total rebuild. Any forward momentum that Carolina can create this year will put them in a very good position.
If everything goes well, the Panthers could arise as a potential dark horse. Whether or not this is feasible after an unexpected period of disruption remains unclear. We will not exactly know what to expect until the team crosses the white lines for the first time.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers NFL Week 1 Pick:
Carolina will win, cover the point spread, and the total will go over, so feel free to fade the Raiders at NFL gambling sites.
