Las Vegas Raiders vs. Detroit Lions Odds, Prediction & Pick
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Raiders vs. Lions Odds
| Raiders Odds | +7.5 |
| Lions Odds | -7.5 |
| Over/Under | 46.5 |
| Date | Monday, Oct. 30 |
| Time | 8:15 PM ET |
| TV | ESPN |
Week 8 of the NFL regular season will conclude with a Monday Night Football matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Detroit Lions. The Raiders enter play 3-4 and are hoping to bounce back after a 30-12 loss last weekend to the Bears. The Lions are 5-2 and firmly in control of the NFC North division.
Ahead of kickoff in this matchup, oddsmakers have priced the Lions as 7.5-point favorites on the spread. The total for this contest is set at over/under 46.5 points.
Let’s take a deeper look at the matchup to see where NFL bettors can find value at sportsbooks in this contest.
Las Vegas Raiders
Jimmy Garoppolo will start on Monday
Jimmy Garoppolo missed his team’s Week 7 loss against the Chicago Bears due to a back injury, but he will be back on the field against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, according to The Athletic. Las Vegas is 0-2 this season in games started by backups Aidan O’Connell and Brian Hoyer but 3-2 in games started by Garoppolo.
Garoppolo has been underwhelming this season, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. Nevertheless, he is a significant upgrade over the other options Las Vegas has on the roster at the quarterback position.
Las Vegas defense and special teams hobbled heading into Monday Night Football
Linebacker Kana’i Mauga was a late addition to the team’s injury report and has been ruled out for Monday’s contest. He has played only 11 snaps this season but is a notable loss considering that starting linebacker Divine Deablo will also miss Monday’s contest.
Cornerback Nate Hobbs was limited at practice on Saturday with an ankle injury but is hopeful to play for the first time since Week 3. His status is worth monitoring as kickoff approaches given his level of talent. According to PFF, Hobbs ranks 23rd out of 117 players at his position in coverage grade this season and 13th as a run defender. His presence would be a major boon to a Las Vegas secondary unit that ranks 8th in Dropback EPA/play and 8th in Dropback Success rate since Week 4.
It is also worth noting that kicker Daniel Carlson was limited at practice on Saturday after not participating at all earlier in the week. Carlson played through a groin injury in Week 7, going 2-for-3 on field goal attempts with a miss from 41 yards out.
Detroit Lions
Detroit offense missing key pieces
Running back David Montgomery will be on the sidelines once again on Monday, but his absence is not the only concerning loss for the Detroit offense ahead of their Week 8 matchup against Las Vegas. Starting left guard Jonah Jackson has been ruled out, and starting center Frank Ragnow is listed as doubtful after not practicing on Saturday. Starting right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai is questionable for Monday’s contest after logging a limited participation in Saturday’s practice. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was a late addition to the team’s injury report with a reported illness as of Saturday afternoon.
As a result, Detroit is likely to start their seventh offensive line combination in eight games to begin the season – far from ideal. According to the Detroit Free Press, Graham Glasgow will start at center if Ragnow is inactive. Ragnow’s absence cannot be overstated, considering he ranks 3rd out of 38 players at his position in PFF’s grading system this season and has not finished lower than 6th since his rookie season in 2018. Glasgow allowed 3 quarterback pressures in Detroit’s Week 7 loss on 61 pass-blocking snaps. Goff was pressured on 19 of his 58 dropbacks in last weekend’s loss to the Ravens.
The Lions experienced an abundance of offensive success early in the season, but there are major concerns for this unit heading into Monday Night Football.
Lions defense holding tough without Gardner-Johnson
Despite being without safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson for the team’s last five games, Detroit’s defense has performed well, ranking 7th in defensive EPA/play and 9th in Defensive Success rate in that span.
The main caveat with the aforementioned numbers is that the majority of the good that came in those rankings came against the Falcons, Packers, Panthers, and Buccaneers, each of whom are extremely flawed offensive football teams. Last week, the Lions allowed 38 points and 503 yards of total offense against the Ravens, who are a much better offense.
The good news for Detroit fans is that Las Vegas much more closely resembles the bad offenses that Detroit has faced recently, which makes last week’s embarrassing performance against Baltimore slightly less of a red flag.
Raiders vs. Lions – Picks & Predictions
Las Vegas enters play on Monday ranked 30th in points per game this season and 25th in yards per play on offense. Running back Josh Jacobs is averaging an anemic 2.9 yards per carry, mostly as a result of a porous offensive line that has allowed him to be tackled at or behind the line of scrimmage on 23.7% of his rush attempts in 2023. The Raiders inability to run the ball has been compounded by the fact that their passing attack has been extremely conservative, ranking 22nd in air yards per attempt and 31st in percentage of pass attempts traveling 20 air yards or more, per The Athletic. Even when Las Vegas gets in the red zone, they are struggling to score. Their 41.7% touchdown rate on red zone trips ranks 25th.
Detroit is likely to be without two starting offensive lineman for this matchup. The late addition of Amon-Ra St. Brown to the injury report does little to instill confidence in this unit from a betting perspective. Last weekend, the Lions scored only 6 points against the Ravens and were an inefficient 7-for-22 on 3rd- and 4th-down attempts. Jared Goff was pressured on 19 of his 58 dropbacks and averaged only 5.4 yards per attempt, while taking 5 sacks.
It is extremely difficult to envision this game turning into a shootout on Monday considering the injuries and overall lack of available talent for these two offenses. The under is an appealing look in this spot.
PICK: Under 47 (-115, Fanatics Sportsbook)