The wait is finally over. Specifically, on Thursday night, the NFL will open the preseason with a national prime time matchup. The Las Vegas Raiders will face the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite the revolving door of substitutions with unknown players, fans don’t care. Nor do they worry about not knowing the players' names in the game. Instead, it’s all about the laundry. Two teams will be on a field playing football in NFL uniforms. TV ratings and betting handles will dwarf the regular season numbers of all other sports. King Football is back!
On Thursday, August 4, 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Kickoff time is set for 8 p.m. ET with television coverage on NBC.
The Las Vegas Raiders opened as a 1.5-point favorite with a total of 32.5.
Odds Analysis
NFL preseason handicapping is a serious challenge. To illuminate, most teams use the preseason as a live tryout for marginal players. The best players are held out of most of the action. Cause by the necessity to protect them from injury. Winning the actual game itself is of secondary concern.
Live betting gets a lot of action in the preseason. Accordingly, all of the substitutions are seen as betting opportunities by gamblers. In fact, many sharps will only bet in-game or by quarters in the preseason.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Last year was a lost one for the Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence. The Urban Meyer experiment was an unmitigated disaster for all concerned. There were many doubts about Meyer’s transition from college football to the NFL. He didn’t even survive the entire 2021 season. The ultimate fault is of great debate. Regardless, it was a costly waste of time.
Trevor Lawrence was the first player taken in the 2021 NFL Draft. And he was touted as the savior of the Jaguars franchise. Instead, Lawrence lost a valuable rookie season because of the Meyer debacle. Now he must start over with new head coach Doug Pederson.
Doug Pederson is a competent NFL football coach. And he is the only man to win a Super Bowl in that role with the Philadelphia Eagles. Pederson’s NFL career began as an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. Thus, he is seen as a perfect fit for the Jaguars and their situation with Trevor Lawrence.
Jacksonville has covered only two of its previous seven matchups in August.
Las Vegas Raiders
In like manner to the Jaguars, the Raiders have a new offensively oriented head coach. Josh McDaniels arrives from the New England Patriots, where he gained fame as offensive coordinator for the Patriot dynasty. McDaniels worked well with Tom Brady. But his best work may have been in the 2021 season. Last year McDaniels worked well with rookie quarterback Mac Jones to gain a wild card playoff bid.
Of great concern is the terrible record of head coaches in the Bill Belichick coaching tree. And McDaniels is part of that. Consider that he flopped miserably a decade ago as the Denver Broncos head coach. It is said that McDaniels was too young last time. And then he is touted as being much more mature for this go-around with the Raiders.
Las Vegas was a playoff team in 2021. Thus, McDaniels inherits a capable team expecting to contend for the playoffs again. And he has a proven pro quarterback in Derek Carr.
The Raiders have covered seven of their last nine August matchups.
Jaguars vs. Raiders Free Pick
In this situation, the Jaguars are an intriguing pick as the underdog. The Raiders have the advantage of having a playoff roster that they can protect from the game.
BookMaker Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars
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