Detroit at Las Vegas

Jon Gruden takes over as coach of the Raiders and not only will he be excited for his team to give a good showing in his first game, but he is 30-16 straight-up and 25-19-2 ATS in his preseason career. Oakland has spent a lot to improve its offensive line and it picked up Jordy Nelson and Martavis Bryant to help out at wide receiver. Khalil Mack still is holding out and there are rumblings that the defensive end might be traded. Derek Carr did not have as good a season as he had the year before, but Gruden did hire veteran coordinator Greg Olson, who was with the Raiders in Carr's rookie season to help him get back to 2016 form. Backing up Carr is Connor Cook and E.J. Manuel. Cook is noteworthy for being the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to make his first career start in a playoff game. He completed 18-of-45 passes for 161 yards as the Raiders lost 27-14 in the 2016 season's AFC Wild Card Game. EJ Manuel is in his sixth season and started 17 games for Buffalo from 2013-2016 and he appeared in two games for Oakland in 2017. Detroit, as usual, will have a big question mark with the running game and no matter how effective QB Matt Stafford is and how much they pay him, nothing much will change until the Lions can get a dependable guy in the backfield, especially in short-yardage situations. Jake Rudock and Matt Cassel back up Stafford and Rudock appeared in one game in 2017 and went 3-for-5 for 24 yards. Cassel is in his 14th season and is remembered for filling in for the injured Tom Brady in 2008 and playing all 16 games while the Patriots finished 11-5, but didn't make the playoffs. Cassel has been with Tennessee the last two years and appeared in six games. The Lions have a new coach in Matt Patricia, but Oakland has the motivation in its favor in this matchup. Take the Raiders.