Dolphins vs. Raiders prediction: NFL Week 1 picks, odds, best bets

· New York Post

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.

Dolphins vs. Raiders odds, prediction

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.

Kirk Cousins will start for the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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.

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These 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 Jeanty for the Raiders — matching up with defenses that struggled against the run, so we should see an emphasis on the rushing attack to set up the passing game. The Raiders will also be missing their top target Brock Bowers who underwent a meniscus procedure right before the start of the season.

Neither team should be favored in this game, and as bad as the Dolphins project to be, I expect them to be able to keep up with an equally poor Raiders team when their roster is as fresh physically as it will be all season.

I’ll grab the Dolphins at +3.5.

The Pick: Dolphins +3.5 (-120, bet365)

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.