*Channels inner Bruce Buffer* “Iiiiiiitttt’sssss tiiiimmeee!”
We’ve been waiting since January to see a Las Vegas Raiders regular-season game, and this Sunday ends the eight-month wait as the Raiders face the Miami Dolphins in their Week 1 season opener. This also means Silver and Black Pride’s season-long Pick’em competition is about to begin! If you haven’t signed up for the competition yet, there are still 16 spots available (as of Monday, Sept. 7) and the steps are below.
Sign-up steps:
- Go to football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/pickem or click this link
- Click the ‘Join a Group’ button at about the middle of the page (you may need to make a Yahoo account if you don’t already have one)
- On the right side of the screen where it says ‘Join Private Group’, enter 19525 as the GROUP ID# and Raiders2026 as the PASSWORD and click the ‘Join Group’ button
Now, let’s get to the
picks!
Raiders vs. Dolphins
Odds below are provided by FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change.
- Spread: LV -3.5
- Total: 40.5
- LV ML: -178
- MIA ML: +100
Holder’s picks: LV -3.5, Under 40.5, LV ML
Week 1 is tough to pick with so many unknown variables, and it’s even harder in a matchup between two teams that tore down their rosters to start rebuilding in the offseason. Because of that, the Raiders likely won’t be a favorite much in 2026. However, the Dolphins are one of the betting favorites to end up with the No. 1 pick. Las Vegas has more talent than Miami and home-field advantage to kick off the Klint Kubiak era with a win. And with two teams that have several question marks on offense, the under is the smart bet.
Pick’em Competition
Moving on to S&BP’s Pick’em competition, below is a look at how our writers finished last season.
- Matt Holder 189-95-1 (67%)
- Bill Williamson 184-98-1 (65%)
- Ray Aspuria 178-106-1 (63%)
I’m looking to defend the crown against my co-workers this year, while chasing JeepRaider for the overall title after falling just two games short last year. But it’s a clean slate where even Ray has a chance now! I joke, but he did win it during the 2024 campaign, and Bill won a couple of years ago. So, 2026 will be the rubber match between the three of us.
Community Standings
1. JeepRaider 191-93
2. Freddy B Good 190-94
t-3. Dafe2cat 188-96
t-3. Vila41 188-96
t-3. ColoRaider 188-96
t-6. Tennessee Raider Fan 187-97
t-6. Alaskan Raider Fan 187-97
8. NC Hell Razors 186-98
t-9. Pick’em Pro 185-99
t-9. Bower Rangers 185-99
We had a crazy back-and-forth in the community standings last year where we had a new leader nearly every week! Again, props to Jeep Raider for persevering through the ups and downs to end up on top. But myself, Freddy B Good and the rest of the S&BP community are looking for payback this season, giving Jeep Raider the Jeep Wave (but with one finger) as we pass by.
As a reminder, the NFL season starts TONIGHT (Wednesday night) with a Super Bowl rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots at 5:20 p.m. Also, there’s still a Thursday night game with the San Francisco 49ers taking on the Los Angeles Rams in Australia.
So, get your picks in quickly, and best of luck!
In case this doesn’t get changed, I’m not sure why Tallysight has Ray picking the Rams in the Cardinals-Chargers matchup… I’m assuming that’s a coding issue with the two LA teams, so we’ll roll with it and know that Ray is taking the Chargers, LOL!
