Raiders vs. Broncos Week 17 Prediction
The Raiders still have an outside shot of making the playoffs but they need to beat the Broncos and get a lot of help. Will they even accomplish the first feat and knock off Denver as a 3.5-point road dog?
Game Snapshot
131 Oakland Raiders (+3.5) at 132 Denver Broncos (-3.5); O/U 41
4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 29
Empower Field at Mile High
According to our NFL Public Betting Chart page, the Raiders are drawing 53% of the betting tickets ahead of tonight’s game.
Oakland Raiders Fantasy Spin
Josh Jacobs (shoulder) is officially out for Week 17 against the Broncos. DeAndre Washington will draw another start as a plug-and-play RB2 in a must-win game for Oakland. Jacobs’ rookie season will end with 1,150 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns on 242 carries (4.8 YPC). PFF grading has Jacobs as the league-leader in elusive rating and top five in yards after contact per attempt. The Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate was one of the best pure runners in the NFL in 2019, but his fantasy lines were game-script dependent. Jacobs only caught 20 passes for 166 scoreless receiving yards, numbers that must increase in 2020 in order to make the next jump in fantasy ranks. Jacobs did show pass-catching potential at Alabama, so hopefully Gruden will give him more receiving opportunities next year.
Denver Broncos Fantasy Spin
Phillip Lindsay cashed in with 109 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries while supplying two catches for nine yards on three targets Sunday in the Broncos’ Week 16 win over the Lions. He paced the Broncos with 21 touches, 10 more than teammate Royce Freeman, who vultured a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Lindsay did find the end zone eventually, hammering the final nail in Detroit’s Week 16 coffin with a 27-yard touchdown dash with 6:39 remaining. Lindsay’s 109 rushing yards were his most since Week 5 when he hung 114 yards on the Chargers in a 20-13 Broncos victory. The Denver native now needs just 42 yards to ensure his second-straight 1,000-yard season, a remarkable feat for a player who went undrafted out of Colorado. Lindsay will hope to achieve that milestone when the Broncos host Oakland in next week’s finale.
Oakland
The Raiders are a perfect 4-0 against the spread in their last four meetings with the Broncos.
Denver
The favorite is 10-4-1 against the spread in the last 15 meetings between these two teams while the home side has covered in six of the previous seven meetings.
NFL Week 17 Prediction
With no Jacobs, I don’t like the Raiders’ chances to upending the Broncos in Denver. He’s such a vital piece of Jon Gruden’s offense and without him, I don’t see the Raiders moving the ball consistently enough against a flawed, yet solid Denver defense. Meanwhile, the Broncos offense has been sparked by rookie signal-caller Drew Lock, who has played well. The Raiders are 1-5 against the spread in their last six games overall and are 6-15-1 against the number in their last 22 road games.
NFL WEEK 17 PREDICTION: DENVER BRONCOS -3.5