Arizona Cardinals vs. Las Vegas Raiders Prediction, Anytime Touchdown Scorer: Which Raiders Player Will Score?

Arizona Cardinals vs. Las Vegas Raiders Prediction, Anytime Touchdown Scorer: Which Raiders Player Will Score?

We travel west to the Vegas strip for an interconference matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders. These two teams rarely play, so it should be an exciting matchup with plenty of late-game drama.

Which player is the best bet to back during a matchup with an expected point total of 51.5 points? Here are our picks, predictions, and odds for Sunday's game between the Arizona Cardinals vs. Las Vegas Raiders.

Arizona Cardinals vs. Las Vegas Raiders Start Time, Where to Watch, And Odds

• Date: Sunday, September 18, 2022
• Game Time: 4:25 pm ET
• Where: Allegiant Stadium
• How to Watch: CBS

Click Here for Cardinals vs. Raiders Odds

Arizona Cardinals vs. Las Vegas Raiders Prediction

Kyler Murray and Derek Carr are both looking to bounce back in Week 2 after suffering losses to begin their 2022 season. The Raiders had numerous opportunities to score early in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers but Carr committed two interceptions on consecutive drives. Meanwhile, Murray was buried in an early deficit against the talented Kansas City Chiefs.

How will these porous pass defenses play after collapsing in Week 1? Josh McDaniels was hired as the Raiders head coach this offseason after turning down an opportunity to join the Colts a couple of years ago. He engineered New England's offense with a run-centric focus as their offensive coordinator, utilizing the scheme to create scoring opportunities for pedestrian personnel at times. He gets a much better talent core in Las Vegas, headlined by Davante Adams. Josh Jacobs is only playing his fourth season and has finished with over 1,000 scrimmage yards in each of his first three years. Darren Waller is a mismatch nightmare and Hunter Renfrow's precise route-running and reliable hands make him the forgotten third option in what could evolve into a prolific passing attack.

When assessing Arizona's offense, the outlook becomes a bit bleaker. Yes, they lost star veteran wideout, DeAndre Hopkins, for six games due to suspension. Rondale Moore did not pan out during his rookie campaign and he is currently dealing with injuries of his own, which forced 5-7, 175-pound slot wideout Greg Dortch to step up for Murray in Week 1. Dortch and Conner led the team in targets, while Brown managed to find the end zone on a six-yard reception during garbage time.

The Cardinals' offense abandoned the run early due to falling behind 30-7 at the beginning of the third quarter. We could see a more balanced approach if Conner can get going behind a pedestrian offensive line. Even with Murray playing a clean game and avoiding turnovers, matching this performance with two passing touchdowns, Arizona never had a realistic chance to mount a comeback. Fourth-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury will need to call a better game and get the most out of his running game to afford Murray better opportunities to execute his accurate deep ball passing attempts.

James Conner was a frequent flier in the Arizona offense during their lopsided loss. It's only his second year with the Cardinals but Conner racked up 15 touchdowns in 2021 and played 73 percent of snaps compared to Eno Benjamin's 33 percent snap share. This allowed Conner to receive 16 opportunities, resulting in a two-yard touchdown run that briefly kept Arizona in the game early. He tied Marquise Brown for targets (6) and added five receptions for 29 yards as a receiver, further showcasing his versatility on a Cardinals offense in need of production.

The Raiders made a huge move this offseason by signing Davante Adams to reunite him with his college quarterback, Derek Carr. In Week 1, Carr only had eyes for Adams, targeting him a whopping 17 times for 10 receptions, 141 yards, and a touchdown late in the game. Adams would've scored another earlier in the fourth quarter but Carr underthrew him in double coverage, resulting in a massive turning point for the Chargers to ultimately pull out a win.

Darren Waller was the second leading receiver for Las Vegas, snagging four receptions for 79 yards on six targets. He has strong appeal against an Arizona pass defense that got shredded by Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. The Chiefs' tandem was firing on all cylinders against the Cardinals, finishing with eight receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown. Waller has not scored a touchdown since Week 4 last season, so his odds to score against a vulnerable Arizona secondary gain value at +135.

It's between Adams and Waller for the anytime touchdown scorer in this game. There will be a lot of attention on both players from Arizona's defense as Adams has proven to be Carr's new target hog in the offense. Once, Waller occupied this role. He can still move the chains and pick up chunk plays and gets a juicy matchup where he can exploit the Cardinals' linebackers and defensive backs with his rare combination of size, speed, and strength.

You get added value with Waller as an anytime touchdown scorer at +135. While he's fourth on the Raiders in terms of how oddsmakers view his chances of scoring a touchdown, it's worth investing in Waller's upside in a great matchup to rebuild his confidence.

Arizona Cardinals vs. Las Vegas Raiders Pick

• Pick: Darren Waller Anytime Touchdown Scorer (+135) (Bet $100 to win $135)