Rams at Raiders 9/10/18 - NFL Picks & Predictions
On Monday night, the Los Angeles Rams visit the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Coliseum to bring down the curtain on Week 1 of the NFL regular season on Monday Night Football.
The Rams are expected to have one of the league’s most explosive offenses with quarterback Jared Goff at the helm. The running attack will be led by Todd Gurley II one of the top three backs in the NFL who rushed for 1,305 yards last season and 13 touchdowns.
The leading receivers this season will be two from last season Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp and newcomer Brandin Cooks, who will stretch the field. The Rams signed start defense lineman Aaron Donald on Friday and he will likely play on Monday on a defense that includes defensive backs Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters and lineman Ndamukong Suh.
Oakland begins the Jon Gruden second edition on Monday with Derek Carr under center. Last season Carr threw for 3,500 yards, 22 TDs and 13 interceptions. Marshawn Lynch will start at running back, while the top receivers will be Amari Cooper and tight end Jared Cook.
The big edition to the receiving corps is Jordy Nelson who will more than compensate for the loss of Michael Crabtree. Defensively, the Raiders will likely loss all-world Khalil Mack but Bruce Irvin on the line and Karl Joseph and Marcus Gilchrist in the secondary should make the defense solid. Jared Goff did not throw a pass during preseason but did pass for 3,800 yards, 28 TDs and 7 interceptions last season. Todd Gurley did not participate in preseason games, but will be ready on opening day after gaining 1,300-plus yards last season. Top receivers Kupp, Woods and Cooks all did not play during the preseason, but will start Monday.
Derek Carr passed for 79 yards during the preseason for the Raiders. Marshawn Lynch did not play during the preseason, but backup running back Doug Martin rushed for 27 yards. Amari Cooper caught one pass for 49 yards, while Jared Cook caught two for 24 yards and Jordy Nelson one for four yards, but all three will be ready on Monday.
Betting Trends for vs
The Rams are road chalk this week mainly because of the porous Raiders defense made worse by the lack of Khalil Mack on the field. Add to that the fact the Raiders are learning a new system under Jon Gruden and his offensive and defensive coordinators. Oakland may need at least a week or two to see the results of Gruden’s changes. Take the road chalk and lay the points. Final Score Prediction, Los Angeles Rams win and cover ATS 30-21.
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