The Las Vegas Raiders are among the teams in the NFL raising many questions about their performance during the 2026 NFL season.
The Raiders have a new coach and new personnel, which will make the AFC West very competitive, and fans, as well as sportsbooks, want to know right away how the team will perform in the first games of the season. This way, bettors will have a clearer understanding of how the sportsbooks evaluated the team’s chances in the opening few weeks of the season.
For the Raiders, a few of the early games of the season will be interesting to look back on when thinking about how preseason odds played out. These games are the ones where we can see how oddsmakers viewed the Raiders relative to other teams, and perhaps understand how quickly the market can move as teams begin to play real games.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Venue: Allegiant Stadium
Every Raiders season is marked by the same one thing: the matchup with Kansas City. The rivalry has been one of the defining features of the AFC West, and in 2026, it will continue with the start of a new era for the Silver and Black under head coach Klint Kubiak.
Oddsmakers are always trying to find their footing when setting lines for major games. After years of tormenting opponents, Kansas City is living up to its tough reputation once again.
They are now a team that is heavily favored on the road more often than not. The Raiders play in Allegiant Stadium, which should be a factor, and a rivalry game adds a bit of mystery to the point set for this contest.
This game could affect the Raiders’ image for several weeks. If the Raiders play this one competitively, that could affect the point spread for the rest of the AFC games at the ‘Capitol’.
Fans and bettors looking to keep an eye on the schedule of betting lines for the NFL should be aware that the numbers tend to shift very quickly. Initial information on whether Kansas City or Oakland fans are active in the market can give an early indication of whether the Chiefs are expected to run away with the AFC West or if the Raiders are capable of closing some ground in the division in the near term.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Buffalo Bills
Venue: Allegiant Stadium
For fans, the Buffalo Bills visiting Allegiant Stadium is one of the better home matchups on the early schedule. There are few teams in the AFC better at making opposing defenses work than the Buffalo Bills.
Their offense consistently ranks among the top units in the AFC, and given the typical preference by Vegas to inflate totals for higher scoring teams, the number here is bound to be well worth my consideration.
Most interest in over/under games centres on high-scoring teams. The task for oddsmakers in this case is to determine an appropriate over/under based on Buffalo’s tendency to score and the challenges that the team will face in Las Vegas, specifically Allegiant Stadium, a venue known for hosting several significant games in recent years.
In many cases, home-field advantage in Las Vegas point spreads seems rather more pronounced than one would intuitively guess. Other factors, such as the impact of long-distance travel and the differing environment of an away stadium, are also very relevant in long-distance contests like the one between the Saints and Cardinals.
The main factor in high wagering action on each team is national interest. Many spreads are subject to change often when there is a high volume of wagers on both sides. Even an opening point spread late Monday or early Tuesday may be very different from the closing point spread on Friday afternoon with a 48-hour turnaround. Fans following the progress of their favorite NFL teams online will know this is a tough ask.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. San Francisco 49ers
Venue: Levi Stadium
Few Raiders road trips ignite as much passion as traveling to Oakland’s cross-Bay rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, for what is arguably the greatest rivalry in NFL history. While the teams now meet only as divisional opponents from different conferences, the tension and meaning of this game still resonates deeply with Raiders players.
Bookmakers generally look with high regard on last season’s team that had 12 wins and was impacted by injuries. They figure a team that came so close to winning 20 games in a year in which health problems frequently handicapped them should be a force to be reckoned with in the nation’s best division.
As a road team against a battle-tested playoff contender, the Raiders face a classic rebuilding vs. established talent scenario where spreads typically widen significantly.
Sharp line movement is possible throughout the week as the first month of football begins to reveal a lot about each team’s state. Rivalry games tend to be some of the most volatile in terms of betting lines, due to the sometimes large discrepancy between public opinion and sharp money.
NFL narratives show that, for the Las Vegas offense, this game will represent a tougher schedule environment, taking into account that this will be the first meeting of the season against a Green Bay outfit that has produced one of the most consistent records in the NFC year in and year out.
Early Lines That Could Shape the Raiders’ Season
The early part of the Raiders’ 2026 schedule has been released, featuring a number of familiar rivalries, conference matchups, and road games against teams from other divisions. We break down each game and examine how oddsmakers view the Raiders and their chances of competing against stronger teams.
The first several weeks of the season provide a rapidly evolving body of work, with early movements in opening point spreads infrequently remaining static. Individual team performances and results are factored into sportsbooks’ markets, which regularly re-evaluate and re-price them for the remainder of the season.
Content reflects information available as of 2026/03/04; subject to change.