Star receivers, sharp bets cause Rams-Raiders line move

Davante Adams has departed from the Raiders, and Cooper Kupp is on the cusp of returning to the Rams.

Those are two reasons the Rams have shot up to 7-point favorites over the Raiders in Sunday’s game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The look-ahead line was 4 last week and reopened at 5½ on Sunday.

“We’ve seen that tick up, and I think it’s a product of two things: 1, the Davante Adams trade, and 2, it looks like Cooper Kupp may play for the Rams,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “It opened 5½ and went up to 6½, when we saw a little Raiders money show. As soon as it was announced that Kupp might play, it shot up to 7.”

Star wide receiver Adams was traded this week to the Jets. Kupp returned to practice this week and is listed as questionable to play for the first time since he left the Rams’ Week 2 game against the Cardinals with a high ankle sprain.

The Westgate SuperBook reported sharp money on Los Angeles, which is coming off a bye.

“Sharp money so far on Rams even up to -6½,” SuperBook vice president of risk Jeff Sherman said. “When it touched Raiders +7, we saw some sharp buyback there.”

Three-time Review-Journal NFL Challenge champion Doug Fitz, who leads the contest with a 20-10 record against the spread, made the Raiders his best bet.

“The distraction of Davante Adams is behind them. I think the Raiders have value with the number hovering around a touchdown,” said Fitz (Systemplays.com). “The Rams are an inconsistent home team, while the Raiders have shown they can win on the road with their huge upset at Baltimore in Week 2.”

The Raiders are +260 on the money line.

Over time

The consensus total is 43½, with Circa Sports at 43.

The Raiders (2-4, 2-4 ATS) have gone over in four of their six games, while the Rams (1-4, 1-4 ATS) have gone over in three of five.

“It’s a relatively low total, and that’s more a product of the Raiders not being able to score a lot of points,” Esposito said.

The over has cashed in the Raiders’ past two games largely because of their opponents, as they lost 32-13 to the Steelers last week and 34-18 to the Broncos two weeks ago. The Raiders are 27th in the NFL in scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game, while the Rams rank 25th (18.8 ppg).

“It’s just a Raiders team, I hate to say it, they’re just not playing really well,” Esposito said. “They made a shift to Aidan O’Connell (at quarterback), and it didn’t seem to help too much.

“They have a lot of injuries now, and they’re playing a Rams team that’s starting to get a little healthier. It’s a tough spot to be in for the Raiders.”

The Rams suffered back-to-back losses to the Bears (24-18) and Packers (24-19) before their bye.

Favorites went 12-2 straight up last week and 10-3-1 ATS, while overs went 10-3-1. The favorite and over also cashed on “Thursday Night Football” when the Broncos (-2½, 37) whipped the Saints 33-10.

“As teams get more comfortable now, we’ve seen offenses start to jell. But that’s clearly not the case with the Raiders,” Esposito said. “We’re going to be heavy Raiders fans by the time that game kicks.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.