Dolphins vs. Raiders prediction: NFL Week 1 picks, odds, best bets
The Dolphins and Raiders will kick off the NFL season in Sin City with a season-opener at Allegiant Stadium.Sportsbooks are giving the edge to the Raiders as the home team, with the line sitting at -3 at most shops.The total is 40.5, just slightly higher than the lowest on the board (Jets-Titans, 38.5) for the opening week.Let’s just get this out of the way: This is objectively the worst game of Week 1 on paper.With respect to both teams and their fanbases, there just won’t be much to look forward to when these two teams take the field.Both teams enter the season in a rebuild with new head coaches, new quarterbacks and very little to be excited about besides development.Raiders quarterback and No.1 pick Fernando Mendoza won’t start this game, which robs us of the potential storyline of his first game being against the team he rooted for as a kid from Miami.Instead, Vegas will roll with Kirk Cousins in Week 1.The Dolphins, who completely gutted their team in the offseason, will look to see what quarterback Malik Willis can do under center as a starter after showing flashes as a backup.There is some upside to the fact that neither of these two teams projects to be good this season.
The Dolphins have essentially put together a team of guys who are looking to prove they should be around for the future.They also have the second-most difficult strength of schedule, per Warren Sharp’s rankings.This might be the easiest game the Dolphins have on the schedule until Oct.
25 when they face the Jets at MetLife.The Raiders aren’t looking at a cakewalk of a schedule either.They might go 0-6 in their division against the Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers, and there aren’t too many games on the calendar they can circle as wins.Catch up on The Post’s NFL betting previews and predictions for the 2026 seasonThese teams might not be great, but this game has sneaky competitive potential.
Both teams have strong running backs — De’Von Achane for the Dolphins and Ashton Je...