Experts Pick Cardinals-Raiders
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The time for talk is nearly over, as the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders polish their final preparations for Week 2 action.
We've read the storylines, x factors, players who need to bounce back, etc.
Now, we just need to know who the vast amount of football experts believe will find the win column for the first time all season:
Experts Pick Cardinals-Raiders
Eric Moody's pick: Raiders 41, Cardinals 27
Seth Walder's pick: Cardinals 27, Raiders 24
FPI prediction: LV, 63.4% (by an average of 3.9 points)
Raiders 28, Cardinals 20
"Kyler Murray can only do so much. The Cardinals enter most games losing the talent matchup on both lines and on the perimeter with passing games on both sides of the ball. The Raiders’ defense quietly showed development last week . Under new coordinator Patrick Graham , Las Vegas is better positioned to change defensive game plans weekly and attack weaknesses. This week, that likely means a lot of testing Murray’s protection with blitzes." - Gregg Rosenthal
"Las Vegas didn't post nearly as many points as hoped, but moved the ball up and down the field on what might be a quality Chargers defense. Five sacks and three picks set them back, but the Cardinals defense looked flaccid and unimposing. The Raiders averaged 7.33 yards per first-down play last week. It was pretty impressive, and Carr will learn not to favor Adams quite as much. The Raiders will generate pressure against a suspect Cardinals offensive line, and I could see this Chandler Jones revenge game going as well as the Khalil Mack revenge game went against the Raiders last week. Vegas can run the ball, too. The Cardinals are still a little beat up, and I don't get a good vibe from them. Give me Raiders over 3.5 touchdowns for +100 as well."- Jason La Canfora
"This line was at -3 on Sunday, now it’s -6 thanks to the Raiders’ taking a lot of action. The Cardinals looked terrible on Sunday, but looks could be deceiving — they might have simply been outshined by an impressive Kansas City team. Kyler Murray threw for 193 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s a stat line that could have won against a lot of opponents. It might be enough to play within a touchdown of the Raiders. Pick: Cardinals +6"- David Hill
"Week 1 was a comedy of errors for the Cardinals.
"Not only did they have to face Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, but they also had to do so shorthanded without several key players. To make matters even worse, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph made the inexcusable decision to blitz Patrick Mahomes on over 50% of his dropbacks, the highest rate in the league in Week 1. Sure enough, he paid for it dearly.
"I guess the silver lining in all of this is that it’s impossible for Joseph to have a worse game plan than last week heading into a Week 2 matchup against the Raiders.
"More importantly, the Cardinals look like they’re getting J.J. Watt, Trayvon Mullen and Jalen Thompson back on defense, and LG Justin Pugh is trending in the right direction to suit up after leaving last week’s game with a neck injury. Arizona will be without Rondale Moore and Andy Isabella, but that shouldn’t have much of an impact on the spread as they still have plenty of weapons on offense in James Conner, Marquise Brown and Zach Ertz.
"Meanwhile, for the Raiders, C Andre James, LB Denzel Perryman, and safety Trevon Moehrig have all been ruled out.
"I’m projecting this closer to Raiders -3 and think they are giving up way too many points here at 5.5."- Sean Koerner
"Last season, the Cardinals were the last undefeated team. Now they’re on the verge of going 0-2, and the point spread has shifted from -3.5 on Tuesday to -5 today. We’ll soon find out whether the Cardinals’ disastrous Week 1 loss is a sign of things to come, and we’ll also learn if the stacked Raiders offense (and a rebounding Hunter Renfrow) can compete in the fierce AFC West.
"I want to believe that Arizona will keep this one close, even if Kyler Murray has to put the team on his back. He might have to given the injuries and suspension that have ravaged a squad that looked so good on paper."- BJ Rudell
Against-the-spread prediction: Cardinals
Moneyline winner: Raiders
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