LA Chargers vs Las Vegas Raiders Betting Trends for Win-and-In Week 18 SNF Matchup
- The Chargers are 3-point away favorites over the Raiders on Sunday Night Football
- LA is drawing 64% of the handle ATS and 68% of the bets in the point spread
- The wagering trends for this AFC West showdown can be found below
For the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers, the mission for Week 18 of the NFL regular season couldn’t be more specifically defined.
Win and they’re in the playoffs. Lose and it’s wait until next year.
Both the public and the oddsmakers are leaning solidly toward the Chargers being the team that charges on to the postseason. LA is set as 3-point away favorites in the Chargers vs Raiders odds. That was the margin of victory last year when these two teams met in Las Vegas for the first time. The Chargers claimed a 30-27 overtime triumph.
NFL Week 18 Odds
| Team | Spread | ATS Handle% | ATS Bet% | Total | O/U Handle% | O/U Bet% | Moneyline | ML Handle% | ML Bet% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Chargers | -3 | 64 | 68 | 48.5 | 59 | 70 | -164 | 68 | 65 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | +3 | 36 | 32 | 48.5 | 41 | 30 | +138 | 32 | 35 |
Odds as of January 9th at FanDuel
Strong ATS Movement Towards Chargers
The line on this game opened with the Chargers as the 1.5-point road chalk. Last week, the Chargers (9-7) rebounded from successive losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans to whip the Denver Broncos 34-13.
The Raiders (9-7) also were victors last week in a must-win game for them. They beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-20 as 8.5-point road underdogs.
The betting public was heavily backing the red-hot Colts to take care of the Raiders. The line opened at Indy-7.5 and shortened all the way to Colts-1.5 when it appeared the Indianapolis quarterback Carson Wentz (COVID-19) wouldn’t play. Once he was cleared for action, the line immediately jumped back to listing the Colts as the 6.5-point chalk.
It's been awhile since I've been this pumped for a regular season game. Tonight, Chargers/Raiders is going to be INCREDIBLE! #PlayoffsStartEarly
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) January 9, 2022
It was the second straight week that Las Vegas won outright as a betting underdog. In Week 16, the Raiders were 17-13 victors over the Broncos as 1-point home underdogs. A week earlier, they beat Cleveland 16-14 but failed to cover as 3-point favorites.
Despite the Raiders’ success as an underdog this season – they’re 2-2 ATS as a home dog, winning both games outright – the public is in love with the Chargers. Drawing 64% of point spread handle and 68% of bets, the NFL betting trends have caused the line Chargers to double to LA-3.
An Up And Down Total
The total for this game opened at 47.5 points. It climbed as high as 49.5 points before settling back down to its current number of 48.5 points.
Public betting is going with the over. It’s drawing 59% of the handle and a significant 70% of all total bets. That’s certainly buoyed by the presence of Chargers QB Justin Herbert.
Joe Bosa to Justin Herbert: "You stink." 😅pic.twitter.com/XkyMkqQhbo
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 15, 2021
The holder of the NFL record for the most passing yards and total touchdowns for a quarterback in their first two seasons, Herbert’s passing numbers will be getting plenty of action in the Chargers vs Raiders props/player props.
The last three Raiders games and four of their past six contests have gone under. On the other hand, the total has gone over in each of the Chargers’ last five games. However, the under was the successful play in seven of the past 10 games between these two teams.
Moneyline Movement Favors Chargers
Public betting on the moneyline is following a trend almost identical to the movement in spread betting actions. There’s 68% of handle and 65% of bets backing the Chargers.
Here’s an interesting twist, though. Should the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon, a tie between the Raiders and Chargers would put both teams into the playoffs.
Here's something totally bonkers: If the Colts lose to the Jaguars Sunday, the Raiders and Chargers would both get in with a tie. Literally, there would be no motivation for either team to do anything other than kneel it out 15 times each.
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) January 3, 2022
According to oddsmakers, the chances of this scenario playing out would be assigned a betting line of +21650.
Asked about this possibility, Chargers coach Brandon Staley insisted he has no interest in playing for a tie.
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An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
