New Orleans Saints vs Las Vegas Raiders Predictions, Odds & Picks

• It will be the New Orleans Saints who help the Raiders christen their new Vegas home
• The Las Vegas Raiders are 1-0 after beating the Panthers in Week 1 by a score of 34-30
• These two last met in September of 2016 when the Raiders beat the Saints, 35-34

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Saints vs Raiders Predictions and Picks

Too bad for the Raiders that there will be little to no crowd at their first home game of the 2020 NFL season, otherwise they might be the better pick here, but count on Drew Brees and company to cover the spread on this Monday Night Football.

Our Pick

Saints -5.5  -110

How to Watch Saints vs Raiders

Watching Drew Brees beat Tom Brady wearing a Bucs uniform was an interesting Week 1 phenomenon, so seeing the New Orleans Saints do the same to a lesser Raiders team won’t surprise too many people not wearing black and silver.

The Las Vegas Raiders looked good against the rebuilding Carolina Panthers last week, with QB Derek Carr showing signs of competence despite the team’s secondary looking questionable on the other side of the ball.

These two football franchises have met each other a total of 13 times, with the Las Vegas Raiders coming out on top in 6 of those games and the New Orleans Saints winning 6 games of their own, that final game having ended up a tie back in 1971.

Can Saints Key Receiver Michael Thomas Suit Up in Week 2?

The Saints have future Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees under center, and Brees has All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas as his main target, with Thomas the 3x Pro Bowler being last years NFL receiving yards leader.

In Week 1, Thomas was targeted 5 times and he caught 3 of those passes for 17 yards and no touchdowns, but then he suffered a high ankle sprain and now the entire Saints’ offense has been thrown into all sorts of confusion.

That’s because Thomas could miss “several weeks” of playing time while his ankle heals up, but such an open ended assessment makes it clear that his receiver cohorts Emmanuel Sanders and dual-threat QB/WR Taysom Hill must step up.

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Can the Raiders Utilize Home Field Advantage With No Crowd?

In this pandemically affected NFL regular 2020 season, the home-field advantage has been practically negated since the crowds have been greatly limited due to safety concerns, and the fans who are given admission to the game are spread thinly across the stands.

For the Las Vegas Raiders making their new home debut in Week 2, this becomes a big deal, since they would have received an incredible bump in momentum from just the ceremonial nature of such a rare stadium and new city debut.

As it stands, though, they will have to deal with little supporting crowd noise and find whatever it takes to beat a team like the Saints from within themselves, because whoever is in the booth controlling the crowd noise is only allowed to turn it up so high during the game.

Saints Key Player: (QB) Taysom Hill

With Michael Thomas on the sidelines nursing his ankle injury, the role of QB / WR Taysom Hill just got way larger and more critical in the next few weeks.

Hill is an anomaly player that lines up under center as often as he plays from the slot and as a wideout, having a strong arm and soft hands and the ability to toughen his way through potential tacklers for extra yards.

Count on seeing Hill’s touches increase for the next few weeks while Thomas heals, and that will be exciting given the numerous ways head coach Sean Payton already found to use him in Week 1, when he posted 3 carries for 13 yards, a 14-yard reception while also tossing a 38-yard completion.

Raiders Key Player: (QB) Derek Carr

Arguably one of the most underrated QB’s in the league, Derek Carr needs to have himself a huge 2020 season if he expects to make big money once his contract extension expires after next season.

Carr led his Raiders to a Week 1 away win over the Carolina Panthers by completing 22-of-30 passes for 239 yards and 1 touchdown with no interceptions.

In his new homefield debut, Carr needs a big game with his rookie receiving targets Henry Ruggs III (listed as questionable, knee) and Bryan Edwards while counting on blocking help from his fullback, converted veteran and future Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten.

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Good luck!