Even Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Kirk Cousins knows that it's only a matter of time before Fernando Mendoza becomes the lead guy for the Raiders. And that timeline may have sped up on Tuesday when the No. 1 overall pick and future of the franchise received extensive snaps with the Raiders' first team offense in a practice against the Texans. While Mendoza was not perfect in those reps (he was picked off by Jalen Pitre and had another would-be interception dropped), the quarterback, by all accounts, acquitted himself well against Houston's nasty defense.
Bet on Thursday's NFL schedule with the DraftKings promo code and get $150 in bonus bets after spending $5+: On Thursday, Mendoza gets another chance to close the gap on Cousins when the Raiders square off against the Texans in the first NFL preseason game of Week 2. Las Vegas is a 1.5-point favorite over Houston. Texans is the marquee attraction on Thursday, there are other sports betting options on a sporting landscape that includes one other NFL game and a nine-game MLB slate.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet at the best sports betting apps, for Thursday, Aug. 20. Claim the Caesars Sportsbook promo code CBSDYW here to bet on Thursday and double your winnings on 10 bets: Time: 8 p.m. | Location: Houston | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free) SportsLine pick -- Expert: Under 40.5 (Jeff Hochman) These two teams scored a combined 21 points in Week 1 of the preseason. The Texans offense looked particularly stagnant.
After scoring a touchdown on its initial possession, Houston didn't manage a score the rest of the game. More importantly, the Texans lost third-string quarterback Graham Mertz for the season with a torn ACL. That forced the team to sign backup Brett Rypien, who is expected to see action tonight.
In addition, these teams have been practicing against each other all week, so the defenses' familiarity with the opposing offenses is high. "With preseason playbooks intentionally 'vanilla' to conceal advanced schemes, defenses can easily anticipate the predictable plays run by backup offenses during these matchups," Hochman says. Time: 10 p.m. | Location: Inglewood, Calif | TV: NFL Network | Stream: Fubo (Try for free) SportsLine pick -- Expert: Under 39 (Jeff Hochman) San Francisco scored just 13 points in its preseason opener playing mostly its second and third teamers.
And the quarterback who led the 49ers to their only touchdown, Kurtis Rourke, will not play tonight because of a rib injury. While starter Brock Purdy is expected to make his preseason debut against Los Angeles, much of the quarterback workload will likely fall to Adrian Martinez, who had just a 68.6 passer rating last week. The Under hit in both teams' preseason openers last week.
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