Neither team will give away many tendencies Saturday when the Los Angeles Rams host the Oakland Raiders in preseason action at 4 p.m. ET. That's because these California foes face off in the regular-season opener Sept. 10. Still, there's no lack of motivation. The Rams were embarrassed by Baltimore, 33-7, in their preseason opener. Even if Jared Goff and Todd Gurley sit out again, L.A. is determined to show better in front of its home fans. The Raiders are looking to go 2-0 under new coach Jon Gruden after edging Detroit 16-10 last week. Sportsbooks list the Rams as two-point favorites, down one from the opener, with the over-under for total points scored set at 38.
Before you lock in your Raiders vs. Rams picks, you have to see what SportsLine stat geek R.J. White has to say. White knows what it takes to win on football's biggest stage. He finished in the top 1 percent of the Las Vegas SuperContest last season after also cashing huge in 2015.
If you had placed $100 on each of White's NFL point-spread picks last season, you would have won nearly $2,000. Smart bettors tail him.
One team White knows better than anyone: the Rams. In his last 14 spread picks involving the Rams, White is an incredible 13-1. Anyone who has followed him is up huge.
Now, with these same Rams hosting Oakland, White has locked in a strong point-spread pick, and he's sharing it over at SportsLine.
White knows coach Sean McVay might hold out Goff, Gurley and most of his starters Saturday, targeting the third preseason game instead. Only two of 22 starters played versus Baltimore, but McVay called out his team for a lack of urgency during practice and is demanding better focus Saturday.
Against Baltimore, Brandon Allen outplayed Sean Mannion for the Rams' backup QB job, posting a 100.1 rating while completing 10-of-15 throws for 73 yards and a TD in the second half. The Rams could get a boost by inserting Allen earlier.
Oakland, meanwhile, could give Derek Carr and the starting offense another cameo. He went 2-of-4 for 11 yards against Detroit before Connor Cook relieved him and shined, completing 11-of-19 passes for 141 yards and a TD. While the Raiders seem to be grasping Gruden's offense, the defense showed the biggest improvement. Oakland held Detroit to 227 yards, rang up 10 QB hits including four sacks and allowed 3.8 yards per carry.
We can tell you White is leaning towards the Over, but he has evaluated each roster top to bottom and identified an overlooked angle that determines which side of the spread is a must-back.
So who wins Raiders-Rams? And what hidden angle determines the outcome? Visit SportsLine here to see which side of the spread is a must-back, from the expert who keeps crushing the Las Vegas SuperContest, and find out.
Raiders vs. Rams odds: Picks for NFL Preseason Week 2 from expert who's 13-1 on L.A. games
R.J. White has his finger on the pulse of the Rams and just locked in a play for Saturday
By
CBS Sports Staff
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2 min read