Raiders among sharp bets for NFL preseason Week 2

Jon Gruden has been one of the most profitable coaches for NFL preseason bettors since 2005, going 19-8-2 against the spread.

Sharp bettors are banking on the Raiders’ coach to extend that trend Saturday night against the Los Angeles Rams.

South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said sharp money showed up fast on the Raiders when he opened them as 5½-point road favorites. He also took sharp action at -6 before the line settled at 6½ on Friday afternoon.

The Rams won’t play their starters, and backup quarterback John Wolford will join starter Matthew Stafford on the sideline.

“I don’t think the Rams are taking the preseason all that seriously,” Andrews said. “Gruden has a habit of wanting to win these games.”

The Raiders covered in a 20-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks in their preseason opener at Allegiant Stadium while the Rams lost 13-6 to the Chargers.

The South Point also reported sharp action on the Titans over the Buccaneers, who opened at -3 before the line was bet down to pick’em.

Professional sports bettor Jeff Whitelaw, 5-0 ATS on his preseason picks in the Review-Journal, played the Titans, who whipped the Falcons 23-3 last week. The Bucs lost 19-14 to the Bengals.

“Tampa’s not going to play its starters at all,” Whitelaw said. “Tennessee looked very good.”

The South Point and Station Casinos also reported sharp action on the Vikings, 2½-point favorites over the Colts after the line opened at 1.

Minnesota didn’t play any starters in a 33-6 loss to Denver, but Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is a proven winner in the preseason, going 17-9 ATS since 2005.

Westgate SuperBook director John Murray said it took sharp action on the Bears -4 over the Bills (now 4½), Steelers -5½ over the Lions (now 6½) and Jets-Packers under 33½ (now 32).

Mitchell Trubisky will start for Buffalo in his return to Chicago, which has one of the best preseason quarterback rotations in the league in Andy Dalton, Justin Fields and Nick Foles.

Entering Friday, the under was 15-3 in the first 18 preseason games.

“With only three weeks in the preseason, more and more teams are not playing key starters and quarterbacks, and that translates to not a lot of scoring,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “For two straight weeks, we have seen sharp play on the under in the majority of preseason games.”

Esposito said Station also took sharp money on the Dolphins, 5-point favorites over Atlanta after the line opened at 3½.

The Ravens have won 18 straight preseason games under coach John Harbaugh, going 16-1-1 ATS. Baltimore is a 3½-point road favorite at Carolina.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.