Ducey’s prediction: Expect a sleeper in the desert.
Photo By – Imagn Images. Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell (12) drops back to pass.
The Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals are set to conclude the preseason tonight, and it will be a merciful end for two teams that have had their fair share of struggles through two weeks.
With a suspect offense and a solid ground game to stop on the other side of the ball, my Raiders vs. Cardinals predictions break down why Arizona should make this one a rock fight.
Read below for my free NFL picks for Saturday, August 23.
Raiders vs Cardinals prediction
Raiders vs Cardinals Best bet: Under 37.5 (-110)
We’ll be set for another volatile game in the closing weekend of the preseason, with neither the Las Vegas Raiders nor the Arizona Cardinals planning on playing their best players. Arizona’s head coach, Jonathan Gannon, has already confirmed that this week’s plan is going to more or less resemble last week’s, and that’s a very bad thing if you were thinking of betting on his side.
The Cardinals showed some life in the opening week with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs, but they crumbled in a 27-7 loss to the Denver Broncos last week without Kyler Murray or their top skill position players. While the offense has at least appeared to be in good hands with backup Jacoby Brissett, he played just two series last week, and we could see even less of him on Saturday.
That would seem to mean it’ll be Clayton Tune’s game, and that’s going to be trouble. He threw for just 2.8 yards per attempt last week, running just once for five yards and taking two sacks. The ball simply isn’t moving with him at the helm, and on top of that, Arizona managed just 2.1 yards per carry in an all-around disappointing showing.
The good news for the Cardinals is that they’ve been taking care of the football, something that’s unlikely to change with a suspect Raiders secondary running out their second and third strings. What that may do, however, is lead to a low-scoring affair given the ineffectiveness of the offense.
Similarly, for the Raiders, Aidan O’Connell has been struggling a bit in that regard with three picks through two games despite putting up otherwise solid numbers, and Cam Miller looked a bit overwhelmed behind him against the San Francisco 49ers last week.
Vegas has a solid ground game, which will surely be the best unit going in this one, but with little to do given the nature of Arizona’s offense, I would expect the Raiders to lean on their strong rushing attack and kill a lot of clock with the ball.
This one should be rather sloppy, and even if the Raiders do jump on the board early, I don’t know if we’ll see a ton of scoring afterwards. The Cardinals will have little hope once Brissett exits the game — if he even plays at all — and they should single-handedly weigh down the total.
Raiders vs Cardinals odds
- Spread: Las Vegas +1.5 | Arizona -1.5
- Moneyline: Las Vegas -102 | Arizona -116
- Over/Under: Over 37.5 | Under 37.5
How to watch Raiders vs Cardinals
| Location: | State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ |
| Date: | Saturday, 8-23, 2025 |
| Kickoff: | 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | FOX |
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