The Raiders have lost back-to-back games but they haven’t lost their confidence. Oakland looks to climb back into the AFC playoff hunt with a win at Detroit.
The Lions, meanwhile, are roaring after winning in Green Bay last week for the first time since 1991. Detroit won outright as 10.5-point dogs against the Pack but is just 2-7 ATS this season.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Detroit Lions 0
Oakland Raiders 0
Over/Under 48.5
ODDS ANALYSIS
The line opened as a pick em but was quickly wagered to Oakland -1.5. Detroit is 0-4 ATS at home this season and has failed to cover in its last five games at Ford Field. The over is 3-0-1 in Oakland’s last four games 6-2-1 overall this season.
KEY INJURIES
D.J. Hayden – Suffered an ankle injury last week and exited the game. He is questionable to play on Sunday. David Amerson, claimed off waivers from Washington in September, still played a lot and has been a pleasant find. He likely gets the snaps in place of Hayden at the corner.
Josh Wilson – Left last week’s game with what coach Jim Caldwell called a “significant” injury. The Lions’ starting cornerback was hurt late suffering a knee injury. He is expected to miss several weeks. The coach also said Nevin Lawson, who has become a starter at corner after Rashean Mathis was put on injured reserve, is going through concussion protocol.
KEY MISMATCH
Derek Carr’s gunslinger mentality and confidence in the pocket has Oakland in the playoff picture as the team tries to end 13 years of futility. Behind some talented play-makers in the passing game, the Raiders boast the NFL’s seventh-ranked passing offense with 271.9 yards per game. Carr continued to show potential to re-write much of Oakland’s record book. He threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns last week, his third straight 300-yard passing game and fifth of the season. Carr has 21 touchdown passes and is the sixth quarterback in league history to throw at least 20 in each of his first two seasons. Carr is not afraid to throw the ball downfield into tight coverage, allowing his receivers to make plays. Without much of a run game, the Raiders will use receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree to exploit a thin Detroit secondary. The injuries to Wilson and Lawson leave the Lions with only three healthy corners entering the game: Darius Slay, rookie Quandre Diggs and recently signed Crezdon Butler.
KEY STAT
26.8 – Oakland’s points per game allowed. The Raiders rank 27th in the NFL and have surrendered 68 points total in consecutive losses. Detroit is 29th in the league in scoring with an average of 18.6 points per game and has scored better than 20 in a game just twice.
BETTING ANGLE
The Raiders are a popular playoff flavor as the NFL season turns the corner on the midway point. But back-to-back losses to likely playoff teams got in the way. Oakland fell under .500 for the first time in a month in its 30-14 home loss to Minnesota last week and was outplayed. While the loss certainly stings, it’s not overly damaging. Oakland still has a chance to regroup and make the playoffs for the first time in 13 years and a pack of mediocre teams is keeping the Raiders alive. The next three games are key with Oakland travelling to Tennessee next week then hosting Kansas City after that. Those are winnable games for the Raiders and they need to capitalize. A sweep of the next three puts them in solid shape heading into the final quarter of the season. However, if they lose one of the next three, they’d be 6-6 and making a successful playoff push in the final month could be difficult.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Raiders were gouged the last two games and both areas of their defense were worked on. A week after giving up a franchise worst 597 yards to Pittsburgh, including 284 through the air against Antonio Bryant, they did a better job against the pass but were torched by Adrian Peterson and the Vikings running game. Oakland probably won’t be tested much by a Lions offense that has struggled all season, and that’s good news for Raiders defenders. The Raiders should take advantage Detroit’s shaky defense behind Carr and his gifted group of receivers. The Lions will be playing shorthanded in the secondary making it even more difficult to keep up with Crabtree and Cooper. The Lions caught a Green Bay team that was vulnerable and they had to win at Lambeau eventually. No such luck this week for Detroit with the Raiders fighting to stay in contention in the AFC.
Oakland 31, Detroit 24
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