Raiders vs. Broncos Pick
Without Derek Carr, can the Oakland Raiders compete on the road against the Denver Broncos this Sunday at 4:25PM ET?
According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Broncos are the slight favorite at home, as they are getting odds of -1 point against the Raiders. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 40.5 points. Oakland won the first meeting this season, 30-20 at home, back on Nov. 6. The Raiders have won and covered in their last two against the Broncos.
Oakland is coming off a 33-25 win over the Colts at home last week to move to 12-4 on the season, but the Raiders lost Carr to a broken leg and will be without him for the playoffs. This game is still very important for Oakland as a win or a KC loss to the Chargers gives the Raiders the division. The top seed in the AFC is still also in play with a win. With Carr out, Matt McGloin takes over under center. He has thrown just four passes this season and only 266 in his four-year career. He takes over an offense that is averaging 27.3 points and 388.7 yards per game. He will likely have to rely on the run game that is led by Latavius Murray with 777 yards while Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington each have over 400 yards. The Oakland defense is giving up 24.1 points and 386.6 yards per game this year and will likely need to step up for the offense if they hope to win.
Denver is coming off a 33-10 thrashing at the hands of Kansas City last week to fall to 8-7 on the year and out of the playoff picture. Denver has lost and failed to cover in three straight to see their Super Bowl title defense ended. While Denver has still had a solid defense that holds opponents to just 19.4 points and 337.1 yards per game, their offense has struggled. Denver has only managed to put up 20.6 points and 336.6 yards per game this season. Trevor Siemian has thrown for 3,195 yards and 16 touchdowns this season while both Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders have over 1,000 receiving yards.
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This game is interesting as the Raiders need a win while the Broncos have nothing to play for. Yet, I like Denver. After the way the Broncos got beat up in KC last week, I would expect the defense to play with a lot of pride in their final home game and cause plenty of problems for McGloin. I don’t think McGloin is going to look sharp in his first start, especially against the Denver D.
NFL WEEK 17 PICK: DENVER BRONCOS -1