The Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders meet in the second game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader in Week 2 with both teams hoping to continue their winning ways. The Chargers took down the Chiefs in Brazil 27-21 to open their season with a victory, while the Raiders went up to Foxborough and beat the New England Patriots 20-13. The Chargers have won six of the last 10 meetings between the two sides, including a sweep of the Raiders a season ago.
Justin Herbert was brilliant in Week 1, throwing for 318 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Geno Smith fared well in his Las Vegas debut, racking up 362 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Here's a look at the best Herbert and Smith player props for Week 2, along with grades from SportsLine's Inside the Lines model.
We'll be using DraftKings Sportsbook to look at each quarterback's props. Be sure to check out our NFL betting guide if you're looking to make wagers on Monday's game, as well the latest forecast for Chargers vs. Raiders from the ITL team's model, which simulates every game 10,000 times.
Passing yards props
Justin Herbert: 252.5 (Over -113, Under -111)
Geno Smith: 242.5 (Over -111, Under -113)
Top pick: Geno Smith Over 242.5 yards (4.5 stars)
Herbert's Under is also a 4.5-star play, with the model projecting him for 221.1 yards. Smith is projected for 288.6 yards. The Chargers did surrender 258 yards to Patrick Mahomes in Week 1, though a lot of those yards did come on some freak plays. Don't expect Smith to have that level of magic just yet, but a domed environment should lead to better execution offensively for the Raiders. The veteran completed 70.6% of his throws in Week 1, and if he maintains a similar completion percentage, he should surpass 242.5 yards on Monday night.
Passing touchdowns props
Justin Herbert: 1.5 (Over -125, Under -102)
Geno Smith: 1.5 (Over +101, Under -128)
Top pick: Justin Herbert Under 1.5 passing touchdowns (4 stars)
Both quarterbacks are projected to go Under 1.5 passing touchdowns, per the model. In Herbert's nine career starts against the Raiders, he has thrown 18 touchdowns. However, he has gone Under this line in three of his last four appearances against Las Vegas. The Raiders are not a formidable defensive team, but they did rank in the middle of the league in passing yards allowed per game a year ago and will likely focus on limiting Herbert through the air after his Week 1 showing, especially in the red zone.
Pass attempts props
Justin Herbert: 33.5 (Over -115, Under -111)
Geno Smith: 33.5 (Over -118, Under -108)
Top pick: Geno Smith Over 33.5 attempts (3.5 stars)
The model is also rating Herbert's Under on 33.5 attempts as a 3.5-star play. It's possible the Chargers look to attack the Raiders on the ground more after letting Herbert throw it all over the park in Week 1. Las Vegas might also fall behind early, which would lead to the game script favoring Smith throwing the ball more and Herbert handing things off to his running backs to eat up clock. The model projects Smith for 34.5 attempts and Herbert for 32.2 attempts.
Pass completions props
Justin Herbert: 22.5 (Over -103, Under -123)
Geno Smith: 23.5 (Over -104, Under -123)
Top pick: Justin Herbert Under 22.5 completions (4 stars)
This is another market where the ITL team's model has rated Smith's Over 23.5 completions as a 4-star play. We've gone over the game script potentially leading to Herbert passing less and Smith passing more. Jim Harbaugh has traditionally favored running the ball more, and it's possible Week 1 was a one-off situation for L.A, leading to less attempts and therefore fewer completions for Herbert on Monday night.
