As we approach Week 5, the Las Vegas Raiders aim to reverse their current three-game losing streak. To do so, they will have to get past a tough 3-1 Indianapolis Colts team led by Daniel Jones. Yes, that is a real sentence in the year 2025. Here we have injuries, fantasy, gambling, and more, all in one stop. Let’s get to it!
Vibes
The vibes are pretty horrible in Vegas right now. At this point, it is clear that the Raiders are just not very good. To make matters worse, even when they do find themselves in winnable games, they are finding ways to lose. Meanwhile, the Colts are just the opposite; they are flying high at 3-1 despite being quarterbacked by Daniel Jones. They are coming off their first loss of the season at the hands of a good Rams team, though. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back.
Injury News
Left tackle Kolton Miller being out is obviously a huge blow for the Raiders. Other than that, they are fairly healthy. Brock Bowers is a little banged up and has been held out of practice, but that has happened before and he has still played. As for the Colts, they’ll be without cornerback Kenney Moore II. That will certainly make it harder to cover the Raiders’ arsenal of pass catchers.
Fantasy Focus
I think Ashton Jeanty has finally worked his way out of the doghouse. Both he and Colts running back Jonathan Taylor should be started. We also have a great fantasy battle at tight end between Bowers and Tyler Warren. Looking at the less obvious names, Daniel Jones could be a sneaky play in deeper formats. He could do a lot of damage on the ground this week against a painfully slow Raiders linebacker corps.
Gambling Corner
This is a really tricky spread to bet on at Colts -7 at home. Personally, I would handicap this game at -8.5, but that still seems a little close for the Colts to cover. Moore being out makes things even trickier, as the Colts already had a suspect pass defense and the Raiders have a variety of dynamic receivers. Assuming the Raiders can keep this game competitive enough to keep this game from becoming the Jonathan Taylor show, over 47.5 is tempting.
My favorite play this week is Tyler Warren touchdown props. The anytime touchdown bet is sitting nicely at +160, but what is really interesting is the value on Warren to score twice at +1200. To be fair, he has only scored once all year, and that was not even a receiving touchdown. However, it is clear that he is getting tons of volume and Indianapolis is trying to find ways to get him in the end zone. That should not be hard this week, as the Raiders do not have anyone capable of covering someone with his skillset.
Expectations
If Geno Smith is worth all the resources the Raiders invested in him, this is a game he must win. Las Vegas needs to score a significant number of points in this matchup. Unfortunately, it is challenging to feel confident that will happen. Smith has yet to demonstrate he can achieve that this season, and the Colts appear to be performing exceptionally well.
Final Prediction: Colts 27, Raiders 21
Related: Xavien Howard Opts To Not Face Raiders
*Top Photo: Getty Images