Best Chargers vs. Raiders Player Prop Bets for Sunday Night Football
What kind of performances can prop bettors expect from Justin Herbert, Derek Carr, and Zay Jones on Sunday Night Football? Follow along as NFL betting analyst Nick Galaida breaks down his four favorite Chargers vs. Raiders player props. Not in a state with legal sports betting? Sign up at PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy to start winning cash on NFL player props tonight!
The Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders will conclude the NFL regular season on Sunday Night Football this weekend at Allegiant Stadium. Entering play, both teams are 9-7 and likely needing a victory to secure a postseason berth. Regardless of the afternoon results, Los Angeles will need a win to earn a Wild Card position. Las Vegas could clinch a Wild Card prior to kickoff if both the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers lose earlier in the day. However, that scenario seems unlikely, due to the Colts being a two touchdown favorite over the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars. There is a loophole in which both the Chargers and Raiders could qualify for the playoffs if this contest results in a tie. Yet, bettors should not expect both of these teams to agree to a series of kneeldowns to run out the 60 minutes on the game clock.
Oddsmakers are anticipating the Chargers emerging victorious in this intra-division battle, pricing Los Angeles as a field goal favorite on the spread. Now let’s look at each team before locking in our Sunday Night Football pick. As we approach kickoff, the value on the spread and the total has been reduced compared to its opening market price. Instead of forcing action on saturated markets, bettors may find more expected value on player props for this Sunday Night Football game.
Chargers vs. Raiders Player Props
Justin Herbert u280.5 passing yards (-110)
PrizePicks: O/U 270.5 Yards
Per Pro Football Focus, Justin Herbert has graded as the 3rd-best quarterback in the NFL through 17 weeks. The Raiders have a reputation for being a poor defense, but their secondary unit has been borderline elite since Week 11. In that span, Las Vegas has held Joe Burrow to 129 passing yards, Patrick Mahomes to 240 passing yards, and held each of Taylor Heinicke, Nick Mullens, Drew Lock, and Carson Wentz to 186 passing yards or less. Herbert totaled only 222 passing yards when these teams met in Week 4, and has failed to reach this number in three of his last four games played. Though it is always difficult to bet against elite signal callers, the under has value here.
Derek Carr – Most Passing Yards (+100)
PrizePicks: N/A
As we mentioned above, we do not anticipate Justin Herbert exploding for an enormous game through the air in this one. If willing to double-down on that logic, FanDuel has Derek Carr at even-money to have more passing yards than Herbert. Carr has failed to eclipse 263 passing yards since November, but that could change on Sunday against a Los Angeles secondary unit that starts Asante Samuel Jr. and Michael Davis at cornerback. Carr did not perform well in Week 4 when these two teams met, but he has all the tools (minus a strong offensive line) to get the job done in Week 18.
Zay Jones o40.5 receiving yards (-130)
PrizePicks: O/U 41.5 Yards
Quite frankly, this is an irresponsibly bad line. That does not necessarily mean that Zay Jones will cash this for bettors, but the market is not appropriately weighting the growth that Jones has commanded in the offense during the second half of the season. Per EdgHouse, over the last four weeks, Jones has led the Raiders in targets, accounting for 25 percent of the team’s target share. In that span, Jones has a 73.5 percent catch-rate, further supporting the notion that he and Carr have developed better chemistry as the year has progressed. Jones is likely to see a lot of Michael Davis in coverage on Sunday, which is good news for any wide receiver, but especially for one that has led his team in targets for the better part of a month. Jones has at least 50 receiving yards in three consecutive weeks. Expect him to extend that streak to four games this weekend.
Zay Jones – Anytime Touchdown Scorer (+290)
PrizePicks: N/A
Though Hunter Renfrow has nearly doubled Zay Jones for most targets amongst Las Vegas wide receivers for the season, Jones has actually led the team in targets since Week 14. For many of the same reasons that we mentioned above, we like Jones to have a strong performance on Sunday Night Football. If looking to buy extra stock in the emerging wideout, this is significant plus-money for someone who could lead the team in targets in Week 18.
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