Sharps side with Bengals
Host Raiders consensus 1-point underdogs
The Raiders have left bettors in the red in the second half of their past two seasons.
They started 6-4 in 2019 and finished 1-5 for a 7-9 record. Last season, they started 6-3 and finished 2-5 en route to an 8-8 record.
They opened this season 5-2 before losing their past two games. Sharp bettors expect the Raiders’ skid to continue against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.
The Bengals, who also have lost two straight after a 5-2 start, are consensus 1-point favorites at Las Vegas sportsbooks after the line opened at pick’em. The game is still at pick at the South Point and Treasure Island.
“We took a bet on the Bengals that I respect,”
Circa Sports manager Chris Bennett said. “But I have a hard time seeing the Bengals favored in this game. I know they’re coming off a bye week, but I don’t really see them as better than the Raiders.”
Before its bye, Cincinnati suffered a 34-31 upset loss to the Jets as an 11½-point favorite and was blown out by the Browns 41-16. After the Raiders’ bye week, they lost 23-16 at the Giants before getting whipped 41-14 by the Chiefs at Allegiant on “Sunday Night Football.”
“The way the public looks at games, the view is that Cincinnati is the better team,” Westgate Superbook vice president of risk Ed Salmons said. “Whenever a team looks as bad as the Raiders did Sunday night, people want to bet against that.”
Salmons likes the Raiders to cover.
“This game here is their season,” he said. “If they have any intention of making a playoff run, this is an absolute must win for them. Usually, when a team plays a really bad game, they’ll bounce back. So I expect the Raiders to bounce back.”
The betting public is fading the Raiders for the second straight week at Station Casinos, where 52 percent of the tickets are on Cincinnati.
“We were clearly Raiders fans against the Chiefs, and there’s a chance we could be Raiders fans again this week,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “I think it’s a product of all the off-field distractions have caught up with them a little bit. However, they’re clearly not ready to hit the panic button.
“They’re still in the wildcard hunt and in the division hunt. Though they’ve lost two in a row and the public has gone against them, there’s no reason they can’t right the ship.”
Sharp bettors have been all over the over at Caesars Sportsbook, where vice president of trading Craig Mucklow reported taking wiseguy wagers on over 49, over 49½ and over 50. The consensus total is 50½, with the number at 51 at the Westgate and South Point.
“We are heavy on the over,” Mucklow said. “We will need the under for sure.”
The Raiders have gone over in four of their five home games this season and are riding a 17-7-1 over streak overall. The Bengals have gone over in their past three games.