If you’re a fan of the old American Football League, the Week 16 Monday Night Football matchup between the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders will conjure up some memories. The two franchises were original members of the startup league in 1960 and have been facing each other as members of the AFC West every year since. With the Raiders set to move to Las Vegas in a few years and their current stadium issue up in the air, this could be their last game in the Coliseum – again. And you can bet they would like to make it special.
Watch this Week 16 regular season matchup live on Monday, December 24, 2018, at 8:15 p.m. ET at Oakland Coliseum.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Denver Broncos -2.5
Oakland Raiders +2.5
Over/Under 44
With the Broncos eliminated from playoff contention, the question now is can they rebound to finish off the season. Denver had a mighty run to get back in the discussion, reeling off three straight victories to reach the breakeven point. They actually had an impressive stretch earlier considering the schedule. Facing teams like Seattle, Baltimore, the Rams, Houston, Pittsburgh, along with division foes Kansas City twice and the Chargers, the Broncos held their own.
With what many considered the soft spot of the schedule on the back end, Vance Joseph had his team in good position to end their two-year playoff drought. But the NFL is unpredictable and the Broncos’ postseason hopes were dealt a blow with a loss to the woeful Niners two weeks ago. Then came last week’s disappointment to the Browns. And just like that the Broncos are staring at a third straight playoff-less season with questions surrounding the status of their coach.
It may seem like Denver has nothing to play for, but that’s an exaggeration. The playoffs are out of reach, but getting to 8-8 and avoiding back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1972 is on the table. Winning the remaining two games would do that and the Broncos will turn to their undrafted rookie running back to try and avoid losing to the last place Raiders.
Phillip Lindsay has been a bright spot for an otherwise mediocre offense, but his numbers declined the last two games. Lindsay, who has 991 rushing yards, totaled just 54 against the Niners and Browns and will look for the spark that got him a Pro Bowl nod. Lindsay has done well against struggling defenses, scampering for a season-high 157 yards against the Bengals and compiling 107 against the Raiders in the first meeting.
Oakland has been porous against the run, placing last in the NFL by surrendering 146.4 yards per game. They allowed Joe Mixon to go for 129 yards last week and the Bengals amassed 171 yards. This is a good opportunity for Lindsay to get back in a groove and I’d definitely lean toward taking the over on his rushing yard total on a prop bet at BookMaker.eu.
When the Raiders have the football you need to keep an eye on tight ends Jared Cook and Lee Smith. Cook has become the favorite target of Derek Carr, leading the team with 63 receptions, 848 yards and six touchdowns. Lee has been the secret weapon of late. He has just one catch in each of the last three games, but amazingly they’ve all been for touchdowns.
Carr likely won’t have a lot of time to set up in the pocket with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb in search of noteworthy sacks, and the Broncos have struggled to defend tight ends all season. Smith has as many scoring grabs as Jordy Nelson and they all came in the red zone. When Oakland gets close, look for Smith to be an option on the live betting lines at BookMaker.eu. I can also see Cook having a big game, making him a good pick to go over his receptions and yardage total.
Both teams rank in the lower third in scoring with the Raiders 29th at 18.6 points per outing. This game could end up similar to the first meeting when Denver escaped with a 20-19 victory by scoring all their points in the second half. Denver’s defense pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter of that game and Miller added to his career sack total with one. However, the Raiders line has undergone a number of changes since early in the season and Carr has been sacked 47 times, with 30 of those coming in the past seven games. Miller and Chubb are going pin their ears back and I wouldn’t be surprised to see each one of them get a sack or two.
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