Week 2 of the preseason is here, which means that we’re almost finally at the start of the NFL year. It’s an exciting time with intriguing developments, such as rookie dominance from George Pickens in Pittsburgh, as well as position battles across the league.
Here we have a matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Miami Dolphins, each of which won their respective openers. One particular area of interest is the running back usage, as players are battling to win a prominent role within the backfield committees.
Let’s take a deeper look at the Las Vegas vs Miami betting tips for the second week of the preseason.
Raiders vs Dolphins Odds
Per our NFL odds, the Raiders are short road favorites, which seems about right because both teams are evenly matched, but Las Vegas has more experience on the quarterback depth chart with Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens.
The total is a bit higher at 41.5 points, but both teams were high-scoring in Week 1.
Raiders vs Dolphins Implied Score
Raiders 21.25, Dolphins 20.25
Bookmakers project that this will be a close game, with the Raiders squeaking out a win in a relatively high-scoring matchup for a preseason game.
Raiders vs Dolphins Pick of the Day
Check out more information about this Las Vegas vs Miami wager below.
Raiders vs Dolphins Matchup
The Raiders went with Stidham and Mullens at quarterback in the first week - two players with some experience, with the latter seeing regular season action. Las Vegas also has Zamir White and Kenyan Drake competing in the backfield for touches.
Meanwhile, Miami gave extensive action to seventh-round rookie Skylar Thompson in Week 1, allowing him to play the entire game. Obviously, there’s a lot more inexperience here, giving the edge to the Raiders. While we could see the Dolphins play more of their starters this time around, it’s unclear how many at this point.
Las Vegas vs Miami Prediction
Raiders 24, Dolphins 20
Preseason wagering is always difficult because it’s unclear which starters will see the field. This is why we need to emphasize quarterback play even more here and lean on the team with more experience. For that reason, we’re riding with the Raiders here, trusting in the Stidham and Mullens combination.
It will be interesting to see if Thompson can build off a solid preseason debut, where he completed 20-of-28 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. We’ll also have to see if we see more offensive weapons take the field for Miami, like Chase Edmonds or Sony Michel.
We’re rolling with the Raiders to improve to 2-0 in the preseason.
Raiders vs Dolphins Bet Tips
- Both teams flew Over their totals in Week 1.
- Will we see some Teddy Bridgewater from Miami?
Raiders vs Dolphins Best Bets
Over 41.5 Total Points (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
We like both offensive play-callers here in Josh McDaniels and Mike McDaniel. Both coaches are likely looking to continue to establish their schemes, so we’ll bank on them trying to put points on the board.
Let’s roll with the Over in our NFL pick of the day