The Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings will open up their respective preseasons on Saturday afternoon out in the Midwest, and there will be plenty to watch for with both teams figuring things out at quarterback.
Sam Darnold is expected to open the year as the starter for Minnesota over rookie JJ McCarthy and will do the honors of beginning this one for the home side, while the Raiders will give two candidates a quarter each.
What do we make of this matchup, and better yet — how do we make money from it?
Let's get right into it with our Raiders vs. Vikings predictions and NFL picks for August 10.
Raiders vs Vikings prediction
My best bet
Under 39.5 (-105 at DraftKings)
My analysis
First and foremost, let’s lay out who exactly will play in this one.
The Minnesota Vikings will go with Sam Darnold, who’s been working with the first team in camp, before giving JJ McCarthy and extended look. Head coach Kevin O’Connell is expected to play a large number of starters here, but we won’t see Justin Jefferson, safety Harrison Smith, or third-string quarterback Nick Mullens.
The Las Vegas Raiders are set to let Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O’Connell work a quarter each and we’ll get our first look at rookie Brock Bowers, and we’ve yet to hear of any big names being held out.
The Vikings have a lot to live up to offensively after finishing 11th in yards per play a year ago, and with Darnold now at the helm it’s fair to question what we’ll see in the first preseason game. He did look passable in San Francisco’s offense last year, however, and though he won’t have Jefferson he will be looking to an exciting young receiver in Jordan Addison and leaning on Minnesota’s new lead back Aaron Jones.
Las Vegas improved against the pass last year with the emergence of Jack Jones and returns a solid pass rush, and that should help stymie an offense which is expected to regress and will have some natural growing pains with a new man under center. Having said that, its own offense will have just as murky an outlook.
Whether it’s Minshew or O’Connell to start, we will have two rather uninspiring quarterbacks working in the first half for Vegas before Anthony Brown takes over. Yes, there’s much to play for and both men have shown promise at times, but Minnesota sat just outside the Top 10 of the league a season ago in scoring defense and yards allowed per play.
The Raiders have the 19th-best offensive line heading into the season according to Pro Football Focus and will look to run with one of the worst rushing attacks in the game last year against one of the very best run defenses. The conditions for offense here may be arduous.
I like an improved Vegas secondary and pass rush to do great work against McCarthy while its offense stalls and turns the ball over against a solidified Vikings unit.
Raiders vs Vikings odds
Raiders vs Vikings live odds
Raiders vs Vikings opening odds
- Spread: Las Vegas +1.5 | Minnesota -1.5
- Moneyline: Las Vegas +107 | Minnesota -125
- Over/Under: Over 36 | Under 36
Raiders vs Vikings betting trend to know
The Vikings have cashed the moneyline in five of seven preseason meetings with the Raiders. Find more NFL betting trends for Raiders vs Vikings.
Raiders vs Vikings game info
| Location: | U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN |
| Date: | Saturday, August 10, 2024 |
| Kickoff: | 4:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | NFL Network |
Raiders vs Vikings weather
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