Las Vegas Raiders vs. Tennessee Titans: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 9/25/2022

by Chuck Sommers

Wednesday, Sep 21, 2022
Game time: 1 p.m. ET
Venue: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
Where to watch: FOX

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks


DraftKings: Raiders -2
FanDuel: Raiders -2.5
BetMGM: Raiders -2.5
Caesars: Raiders -2

Season record
Raiders: 0-2
Titans: 0-2

Week 3 of the NFL season is taking shape, and it's been a good start at the books for some of the best we have to offer. Sean Murphy and Wayne Root were 8-2-0 last week in the NFL and have some big picks in store as we get to the interesting parts of the NFL season with the first quarter nearing its end. What will Week 3 hold? Make sure you're locked on to bigal.com in order to see what our champion handicappers are picking. You'll want to see what our champion handicappers like Sean and Wayne have in store.

Raiders - Titans preview, analysis and prediction


Last week
Raiders: lost 29-23 (OT) vs. Cardinals
Titans: lost 41-7 at Bills

It has been about as disappointing as a start as it can be for both the Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans. Both have lost their first two games of the season and both in excruciating fashions. Something has to give on Sunday, right?

This one is a crapshoot and, honestly, with the way the Raiders lost Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals has me thinking this group has a long way to go under new coach Josh McDaniels. The thing that surprises me is that the Titans, coming off a 41-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, is that the Raiders are favored at most books by 2 points.

Seeing how the Raiders blew a 20-point halftime lead on Sunday and watched hopelessly as Kyler Murray destroyed them with every run, clearly there’s a lot to unpack here.

"That's what happens when you play against a dynamic quarterback who can not only work with his arm, but can run outside the pocket and make plays like a running back," Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs said. "It just makes it really tough to defend."

The Raiders had a dominant first half in every aspect. Offensively, they nearly tripled their output of total yards against Arizona. Defensively, they got pressure in Murray’s face and even forced him to throw a terrible interception. The problem with Las Vegas, more so than anything, was the fact this high-powered offense completely shut down in the second half.

Derek Carr did not look comfortable throwing the football completing less than 50 percent of his passes in the second half and overtime. Josh Jacobs barely got the ball in the second half after 11 carries in the first 30 minutes. Yes, this team has Davante Adams and Darren Waller to catch the ball, but when those two are so inefficient in the second half, it was a display that brought back demons of Raiders past.

“They did a few things differently in the second half, I think. At the end of the day, I think you have to learn how to handle success like we had in the first half, and/or failure if that's you on the other end of the spectrum, if you're behind,” McDaniels said. “And that starts with me, I have to do a better job of getting our team able to handle a lead just as much as we were able to try to fight back last week from a deficit.”

But if there’s any way to understand why the Raiders would be favored in this game, it’s that the Titans were humbled in a big way against Buffalo on Monday. Not that that’s a hard thing to accomplish, but the Bills are clearly the best team in football right now and it’s a wide race between 1st and 2nd place.

It’d be one thing if the Titans didn’t lay an egg in Week 1 against the New York Giants, but to get dominated in that fashion in Buffalo didn’t help. Ryan Tannehill was a measly 11 of 20 for 117 yards and was picked off twice. Derrick Henry scored Tennessee’s lone touchdown, but had just 13 carries for 25 yards.

"We got our (butts) kicked, plain and simple," coach Mike Vrabel said after the most lopsided loss in his four-plus seasons coaching the Titans. "They outplayed us and they outcoached us, and that's the definition of it. We're going to go back to work and try to figure out how to win a football game."

History has not been kind to the Titans when their backs are against the wall. As a home underdog straight up, the Titans are just 27-46 in the last 30 years. Against AFC West opponents, they’re just 21-28 straight up.

The Raiders have split their last 36 games and have been a .500 team over the last three years. But they’re getting a down team at home and things should be coming up Vegas for the first time this year.

Prediction


The Raiders are fortunate to face a banged-up Titans defense and I think it’s going to be a much better effort from Las Vegas. The Raiders absolutely need it. Raiders by 10

Betting trends


Raiders are 3-10 ATS as a favorite in their last 13 instances.

Raiders are 1-5 ATS as a road favorite in their last six.

Titans are 9-6 ATS as an underdog in the last three years.

Titans are 12-15 ATS in their last 27 games against conference opponents.

Statistical leaders


Raiders:
Passing: Derek Carr -- 547 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Josh Jacobs -- 126 yards
Receiving: Davante Adams -- 153 yards, 2 TD
Defense: Maxx Crosby -- 1 sack

Titans:
Passing: Ryan Tannehill -- 383 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Derrick Henry -- 107 yards, 1 TD
Receiving: Treylon Burks -- 102 yards
Defense: Two tied -- 2 sacks

Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Las Vegas Raiders - Tennessee Titans prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NFL projections and previews.

Chuck Sommers

About the Author:

Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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