Cowboys vs. Raiders Prediction & Odds: NFL Preseason Week 2 Preview

After these teams both lost in Week 1, Las Vegas is a massive home favorite amid a preseason quarterback battle.

Last Updated: August 17, 2024 12:00 PM EDT • 3 minute read

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce looks on as we offer our best Cowboys vs. Raiders prediction and odds for Saturday's NFL preseason Week 2 matchup at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. — Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce looks on against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Photo by Jeffrey Becker / USA TODAY Sports via Imagn.

After the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys each blew late leads in their NFL preseason openers, they'll be looking for their first exhibition win when they meet Saturday at 10 p.m. ET at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The host Raiders are favored by 6.5 points to beat the Cowboys across our best sports betting sites, which have Dallas among the favorites by the Super Bowl odds. And I'm expecting a close contest between mostly backups on Saturday.

Take the points in Cowboys vs. Raiders

Odds via our best NFL betting sites; NFL picks confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale.

Prediction: Cowboys +7 (-115) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As we laid out in our NFL preseason betting guide, most exhibition games are a toss-up with backups stealing the show. So my eyebrows raised when I saw the Raiders priced as touchdown favorites at FanDuel - the only one of our best sportsbooks that has moved off the consensus number of 6.5.

Surely, Las Vegas' quarterback battle plays a key role in that inflated number. Coach Antonio Pierce has already publicly said he hopes to name the Week 1 starter after Saturday's game, which should feature both Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell for one quarter each.

Last week, Pierce sat those two in the second half for Anthony Brown, who attempted just three passes while the Raiders squandered a 20-7 lead by (quite literally) running it into the ground. Remember, coaches don't care about the final result, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a second-half turtle in Week 2, too.

Can Cowboys keep it close?

The Cowboys will be without offensive starters Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and others for most if not all of Week 2. But this is still a loaded roster with talent across the depth chart.

We saw that last week, when Dallas' defense forced four turnovers in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It might have won that game if quarterback Trey Lance (25-of-41, 188 yards) was a little more efficient with the ball in his own audition for a starting job someday.

He did lead the team in rushing (44 yards) but couldn't capitalize on multiple trips to the red zone. If the former No. 3 pick is even slightly more composed on Saturday, he should be able to keep his team competitive against a Raiders team that has showed little interest in actually winning exhibition games under Pierce.

Best odds: -115 via FanDuel | Implied probability: 53.49%

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Players to watch

Career stats	Aidan O'Connell (LV)	Trey Lance (DAL)
Preseason	558 yards, 3 TD (4 games)	1,175 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT (10 games)
Regular season	2,218 yards, 12 TD, 7 INT (11 games)	797 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT (8 games)

Cowboys vs. Raiders odds

See our full NFL odds here.

Cowboys vs. Raiders game info

When: Saturday, Aug. 18
Kick off: 10 p.m. ET
Where: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
How to watch: NFL Network
Favorite: Raiders -6.5 (-110 via BetMGM)

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Written by:
C Jackson Cowart

C Jackson Cowart is a publishing editor and lead writer for Sportsbook Review. An award-winning writer, reporter, and editor with a decade of sports media experience, "C-Jax" has worked with ESPN, Forbes, theScore, and various daily newspapers before joining the Sportsbook Review team. He's a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina, where he served as a beat writer for the Tar Heels' championship run through the NCAA men's basketball tournament in 2017. Jackson has spent the last five years covering sports betting as a predictive analyst, features writer, and industry reporter. Since joining the team in 2023, he's played a key role in Sportsbook Review's coverage of the Super Bowl, March Madness, and NBA playoffs while serving as the lead writer for the growing WNBA and NASCAR betting scenes. Though he's cashed some big bets over the years -- including Lamar Jackson to win MVP (twice) -- he's still haunted by enough second-place bet slips to wallpaper his home office. While Jackson is a committed "process over results" bettor with a keen eye for advanced stats and subtle bias in futures markets, he also embraces sports betting as a vehicle for entertainment and personal investment. He's written about everything from hot dogs to groundhogs and still hasn't forgiven his "inside source" for a sabotaged bet on the Gatorade color in Super Bowl LV.