Betting: Will Herbert and Chargers cover vs. Raiders on SNF?
Minty Bets, Pamela Maldonado, and Jared Quay Campbell break down their betting picks for the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders.
Video Transcript
MINTY BETS: For "Sunday Night Football," we've got a very important game in the AFC West, the Chargers and the Raiders. Whoever wins this game wins a Wild Card spot. We've got the Chargers as 3-point favorites in Vegas. And the total is 49 and 1/2.
I'm Minty Bets, here with Pam Maldonado and Jared Quay. And we're going to give you our best bets for this game. Pam, let's start with you. What do you have for us?
PAM MALDONADO: I'm rolling with the home dog. Week 18, give me the Raiders, +3 at home to the Chargers. Like Justin Herbert, he's one hell of a quarterback. This is one hell of an offense, yes.
But the Raiders, they have played three of the toughest defenses in the league in the last three weeks in the Broncos, the Colts, and the Browns. This game, for me, is more of a play on Derek Carr as a quarterback. He's averaging 75% completion. He has over 8 yards per pass in back-to-back games.
The Chargers, they're still bottom 3 in defending the run. And Raiders' running back in Josh Jacobs, he has an opportunity here to absolutely go off. He could potentially have found his stride at just the right time with 129 rushing yards against Denver. And the Chargers, they gave up 149 rushing yards to Houston's running back in Rex Burkhead. The ability is absolutely there.
This is a must-win spot for both teams. I love how Derek Carr is playing. I think he is a leader on this team. I'll take Raiders, +3 at home.
MINTY BETS: OK, Jared, what is your pick for this game?
JARED QUAY: I'm just telling Pam. You know she's never wrong, so I'm not going to go against her.
PAM MALDONADO: [LAUGHS]
JARED QUAY: No, I'm joking. I got a pick here, OK? I do love the Raiders, +3 at home. I think that's a lot of points for what should be a playoff game atmosphere. And it goes down to just quarterback play. I know last time, Joey Bosa quoted saying that if you get pressure on Derek Carr, he curls up in a ball. And he did that last game, but that is bulletin board material for this game.
And I'm actually focused on the other quarterback. Obviously, the Chargers are a great team when he plays amazing. He has. But games when he plays bad is the Ravens, the Patriots. He has a 60 quarterback rating, which is not going to be good enough.
And I think this Raiders' pass rush can't get to him with Yannick Ngakoue, Maxx Crosby, and with that being the case, I do think 3-point home dogs. Give me them Raiders, baby. Raiders to the playoffs first year in Vegas.
MINTY BETS: I would love to make this a sweep, and I would love to see my home team win this Wild Card spot. But I just do not trust them. The Chargers are the better team here. Herbert is the more efficient quarterback, and he's got more reliable weapons downfield.
The Raiders are 2 and 5 against the spread their last seven home games. And the last two times the Chargers and Raiders met, I believe the Chargers were 3-point favorites in both those games. And they won and covered. So I'm sensing a little deja vu. And I will lay the points with the Chargers.
PAM MALDONADO: Going against your home team.
JARED QUAY: How does one walk around Vegas with that attitude?
MINTY BETS: [LAUGHS]
To recap our Sunday night picks, Pam and Jared are on the Raiders to cover, and I have the Chargers to cover. Bet $1.00 on any game, and win $100 free. Sign up now at BetMGM.com/YahooSpecial.
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