Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

NFL Week 2: Las Vegas Raiders vs. Buffalo Bills betting picks, preview

By Matt Wiesenfeld | Last updated Sep 15, 2023 9:33 AM ET

Buffalo lost in spectacular fashion on the road on Monday night. This is a team with true Super Bowl aspirations and you have to think they are going to take it out on the Raiders this week, if they can. Las Vegas was a surprising winner on the road against Denver so they come into this one playing with "house money." Let's see if we can make some on this one too.

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Buffalo Bills Betting Trends and Odds

Sunday, September 17, 2023 - 1 p.m. ET

Odds: Buffalo -8.5, Over/under 47, Las Vegas +300 | Buffalo -380

I guess this line might have been over 10 on the look-ahead line but with Las Vegas winning and the Bills looking so poor on "Monday Night Football," this one might actually be a good value at this number. It is under that key number of 10 at the moment (and has come down from yesterday) and you can bet some Buffalo backers will tease it down even further. It will be interesting to see how/if it moves from here.

Picks for Oakland vs. Buffalo

Buffalo -8.5, Davante Adams More Receiving Yards Than Stefon Diggs (-105)

It was a bad showing by Buffalo on "MNF," but there is also a chance that the Jets have the best defense in the NFL this season (a good chance). Oakland however does not, so I think we can expect a much better offensive performance from Buffalo, which is what we are going to need for them to cover a good-sized number. The defense was solid last week against the Jets. New York scored 2 TDs but one was on the winning punt return in overtime and the other on a fantastic catch in the end zone by Garrett Wilson. This defensive group is more than stout enough to give the offense a chance to build a strong working lead. Plus we have to think Josh Allen is a lot better. We don't need him to be great in this spot, just perform at his average level.

Adams and Diggs are two of the best receivers in the NFL. Last year Adams was third in receiving yards and Diggs was fifth. I prefer Adams in this spot because I think the Raiders have fewer viable options than Buffalo to take catches away. Also, Diggs was featured plenty last week so there is not as much urgency to get him the ball and the smart thing for Allen to do is not to hone in on his top guy too much this week.

The line on this game has been coming down, but 8.5 is still a dead number. Even 8 is pretty much these days. The only reason to wait is if you are going to tease it.

Matt Wiesenfeld

Matt Wiesenfeld has been handicapping games and espousing sports wisdom online for more than a decade, writing thousands of articles to help bettors understand and play the market. Matt loves to bet on, write about, and engage on MLB, the NFL, NBA, college football, and college basketball

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