The Las Vegas Raiders need to find a way to slow down Josh Allen and stop a two-game slide before it turns into something worse.
Game details
| When | Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 4:25 PM ET |
| Where | Allegiant Stadium |
| TV | CBS |
| Line | Buffalo Bills -4.5 | O/U 53 (market view) |
| Buffalo Bills record | 4-1 |
| Las Vegas Raiders record | 3-2 |
Overview
The Buffalo Bills roll into Allegiant Stadium at 4-1 and winners of their last game, while the Las Vegas Raiders sit at 3-2 on a two-game losing streak. Buffalo has outscored opponents 164-141 on the season, and Las Vegas has been tighter at 132-129.
Buffalo's recent form tells the story: a 37-34 win over the Los Angeles Rams on the road, a 26-29 loss to the New England Patriots at home, then wins over the Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans. Las Vegas, meanwhile, dropped a 17-45 decision to New England and a 27-30 game to the Kansas City Chiefs before that, sandwiched between wins over the New Orleans Saints, Chargers and Miami Dolphins earlier in the year.
Buffalo is favored by 4.5 points with a total of 53.0, and that number makes sense given what Allen has been doing. The edge here belongs to the Bills, who are getting it done both through the air and on the ground, while the Raiders try to find their footing again after back-to-back defeats.
Key players
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills: Allen threw for 210 yards and ran for 121 more with two total touchdowns last week, and he's projected for 27.0 DraftKings points here.
Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders: Bowers is projected for 19.5 points and is one of two tight ends in NFL history with at least 80 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in each of his first three games of a season.
James Cook III, RB, Buffalo Bills: Cook is projected for 20.0 points as Buffalo's lead back out of the backfield.
Kirk Cousins, QB, Las Vegas Raiders: Cousins is projected for 18.0 points running the Raiders offense.
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders: Jeanty is questionable with an ankle injury and projected for 13.0 points if he's good to go.
Keys to the game
Las Vegas has to find a way to contain Josh Allen, who's coming off a 331-total-yard, two-touchdown performance and has rushed for a touchdown in every game this season.
Feed Brock Bowers early and often near the goal line, since he's been money in the red zone through his first three games and can keep that streak alive against Buffalo.
The Raiders need to clean up whatever's gone wrong the last two weeks, having been outscored badly by New England and then losing a close one to Kansas City.
Fantasy angles
Start Brock Bowers with confidence. He's projected for 19.5 points and has scored a touchdown in each of his first three games this season, and that goal-line role isn't going anywhere.
Kirk Cousins is a solid streaming option at 18.0 projected points if the Raiders need to throw to keep pace with Buffalo's offense.
Ashton Jeanty is a game-time watch given his questionable ankle status; if he's active, his 13.0 projection is startable, but check the injury report before kickoff.
Tre Tucker projects for just 7.5 points and is more of a bench piece than a must-start in most formats this week.
Matt Gay at 9.0 projected points is a fine streaming kicker option given how this offense has moved the ball in spots this season.
Prediction
The market sees this one finishing Buffalo Bills 29, Las Vegas Raiders 24, and that lines up with what both teams have shown. Allen and the Bills have the juice to keep moving the chains and finding the end zone on the ground and through the air, while Brock Bowers gives the Raiders enough of a red-zone weapon to keep it from getting away from them. Buffalo's recent form and Allen's rushing touchdown streak make them the pick to leave Allegiant Stadium with the win.
Injury report
| Player | Team | Pos | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dee Alford | Buffalo Bills | CB | Questionable |
| DJ Moore | Buffalo Bills | WR | Questionable |
| Joshua Palmer | Buffalo Bills | WR | Out |
| Landon Jackson | Buffalo Bills | DE | Questionable |
| Ed Oliver | Buffalo Bills | DT | Out |
| Ashton Jeanty | Las Vegas Raiders | RB | Questionable |
| Jalen Nailor | Las Vegas Raiders | WR | Out |
| Dont'e Thornton Jr. | Las Vegas Raiders | WR | Out |
| Trey Zuhn III | Las Vegas Raiders | C | Out |
Depth chart
| Pos | Las Vegas Raiders |
|---|---|
| QB | Kirk Cousins |
| RB | Ashton Jeanty, Mike Washington Jr. |
| WR | Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, Cody White |
| TE | Brock Bowers |
Recent results
| Team | Last games |
|---|---|
| Las Vegas Raiders | Wk5 L 17-45 vs New England Patriots, Wk4 L 27-30 vs Kansas City Chiefs, Wk3 W 35-27 vs New Orleans Saints |
In this story
- Buffalo Bills at Las Vegas Raiders
- Buffalo Bills
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Ashton Jeanty
- Brock Bowers
- Cody White
- DJ Moore
- Dee Alford
- Dont'e Thornton Jr.
- Ed Oliver
- Jalen Nailor
- James Cook III
- Josh Allen
- Joshua Palmer
- Kirk Cousins
- Landon Jackson
- Matt Gay
- Mike Washington Jr.
- Tre Tucker
- Trey Zuhn III
Written by Rhett Zone, an AI analyst, from News Hub Fantasy data (schedule, scores, box scores, injuries and depth charts), and checked against that data before it published automatically. Read how we use AI in our editorial standards.