Betting Odds Favor Arizona Against Oakland in NFL Preseason

With the salary cap in place in the NFL preseason, teams tend to have a small window of opportunity to win the Super Bowl before they are forced to cut salaries and start to rebuild. The Arizona Cardinals had a few years where they came close, including losing to the Steelers in the championship game. They have several keys players who are getting a little long in the tooth, and they underwhelmed last season, leading many to believe that their window of opportunity had closed. Nonetheless, make sure to take your time to review the current NFL odds for the preseason matchups this week. The Raiders are a team on the rise after years of being one of the most ridiculed franchises in the game. No-one is laughing at them now, and had it not been for losing QB Derek Carr to a broken leg late last season, this is a team that could have been a Super Bowl contender. They have made some offseason upgrades, and are now among the favorites to make an SB run. They will get their preseason started with a home tilt against the Cardinals, who already have a game under their belts this preseason.

Oakland at Arizona NFL Preseason Odds, Analysis & Pick

  When: Saturday, August 12 at 10 PM EST Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix TV: NFL Network Radio: Sirius XM Radio Live Stream: NFL Game Pass NFL Preseason Odds: Arizona Cardinals -3 (-110)

Straight Up Stats

The Raiders are coming into this one as 3-point underdog. We will look at their ATS stats for the past 3 seasons in a moment, but let’s start by taking a look at how they performed SU during that stretch. Lat year’s 12-4 record was certainly a breakout season, but it was tarnished by injuries and an opening round playoff loss. Going back to 2014, the Raiders were 22-27, including a 10-15 road record. As the road underdog, Oakland went just 7-13. Arizona were a disappointing 7-8-1 last season, taking their SU record since 2014 to 32-18-1. The question now is whether last year was an aberration or a sign of a team on the slide. Arizona were a very good 18-6-1 at home over the last 3 seasons, including a 15-5-1 record as the home favorite. This swings things in the favor of the Cardinals, assuming that this is a bounce back year.

Point Spread Stats

The Raiders did a decent job of covering the spread last year, going 10-7 on the season. Over the past 3 seasons, they have gone 26-23 ATS, and had the best ATS record in the league on the road at 16-9. They were also very effective as the road underdog during this period, posting a 13-7 record away from home. This would appear to make them a very good bet to cover on Saturday Arizona were just 6-10 ATS last season, taking them to 26-25 ATS over the past 3 seasons. They were not particularly good against the spread in their own building over this 3-year period, going just 12-13. They also struggled to cover as a home favorite, going just 9-12. This definitely has me looking at the Raiders being able to cover in this game, where they will start as a 3-point dog.

NFL Preseason Week 1 Winning SU Picks

OVER/UNDER Stats

The point total for this game is set at 40 points. The Oakland offense was potent last year, so perhaps no surprise that they posted an O/U record of 12-5 in 2016. Over the past 3 seasons, their O/U record came in at 30-17-2, which was tied with Washington for the most OVER games in that stretch. That said, they were 12-12-1 on the road, but 12-8 O/U as a road dog. Arizona were 10-6 O/U in 2016, taking their record in the past 3 years to 26-24-1. The UNDER hit a lot for the Cardinals at home during the past 3 seasons, with their record at 9-16, which included an 8-13 O/U record as the home favorite. This one looks like a bit of a coin flip.

ARIZONA CARDINALS TEAM STATISTICS

Offensive total yards 366.75 Average Score For 26.12 Offensive rush yards 109.62 Defensive total yards 305.12 Offensive passing yards 257.12 Defensive rush yards 94.88 Average Score Against 22.62 Defensive passing yards 210.25

OAKLAND RAIDERS TEAM STATISTICS

Offensive total yards 363.06 Average Score For 25.29 Offensive rush yards 116.82 Defensive total yards 370.18 Offensive passing yards 246.24 Defensive rush yards 117.94 Average Score Against 24.24 Defensive passing yards 252.24

Oakland vs Arizona Game History

• Total Meetings: 9
• First Meeting: October 3rd, 1973. Busch Memorial Stadium. St. Louis, Missouri.
• Last Meeting: October 19th, 2014. O.co Coliseum. Oakland, California.
• All-Time Series: Oakland 5-4-0
• Largest Margin of Victory: Oakland 41-20 (2002)
• Longest Win Streak: Oakland 2 (1989-1998)
• Current Win Streak: Arizona 2 (2010-2014)

Expert NFL Preseason Pick and  Final Score Prediction

The Cardinals do have the benefit of already having played a preseason game, but I’m not sure that will help them here. I like the Oakland Raiders to win and cover, and since the last two meetings between these teams have delivered a lot of points, let’s also go with the OVER. Oakland Raiders 30 Arizona Cardinals 23