Best Bet: Detroit Lions vs. Oakland Raiders Pick

Detroit Lions (3-3-1 SU, 4-3 ATS) vs. Oakland Raiders (3-4 SU, 4-3 ATS)
NFL Football Week 9
Date/Time: Sunday – November 3rd – 4:05pm EST
Where: RingCentral Coliseum – Oakland, CA
TV: FOX

Point Spread: DET +2/OAK -2 (BetNow)
Over/Under Total: 50.5

DETROIT LIONS AND OAKLAND RAIDERS MATCH UP:

This Sunday, the 3-3-1 Detroit Lions will head out west to beautiful and sunny Oakland, California to take on the 3-4 Raiders. Both teams are still alive and well in the playoff hunt, but a loss by either this weekend could make for a huge setback. Both teams played very close games in week eight with the Lions winning over the Giants by a score of 31-26 while the Raiders squared off against the Houston Texans and came up just short by a score of 27-24. Both quarterbacks (Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr) had good games and I can see the same happening this weekend as well. The key will be the defenses and the ability to get stops.

Being an AFC/NFC game, these two teams are not very familiar with each other. The Raiders and Lions have met just ten times since 1978 and only three times since 2007. The Lions have won the last four head to head games straight up and they have also covered in all four of those contests. The line this Sunday has the Raiders as a two point home favorite over the Lions with the total points being set at 50.5.

HOW THE PUBLIC IS BETTING THE OAKLAND AND DETROIT GAME:

As of Wednesday afternoon, the public was leaning towards the Lions getting the cover on the road. 53% of the action was Detroit plus the points while 47% liked the Raiders at home. This is a pretty even split and I do not see the line moving much before kickoff so this is the spread that you will probably see til the time the games kicks off. As for the total points of 50.5, the public again is somewhat torn with 52% liking the over and 48% on the under.

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WHY THE DETROIT LIONS WILL COVER ON THE ROAD AGAINST THE RAIDERS:

If you look at these two teams records you would think that this game would be somewhat of a toss up. Even the spread in Vegas says that, but I look at this game in a much different way. I truly think the Detroit Lions are not just a better team than the Raiders, I don’t think it is even close. Yes, the Lions are just 3-3-1 but one loss was to the Packers on a last second field goal and another loss was to the Kansas City Chiefs 34-30. This Detroit team is vey competitive and is much better than their record shows.

Statistically speaking, this matchup is just not good for the Raiders. Detroit comes in with one of the better offenses in the NFL averaging close to 26 points per game. The offense which is obviously led by Matthew Stafford (who ranks 5th in the NFL in passing) is also very balanced. Stafford passes for about 280 yards a game while the running game puts up another 97 yards per contest. A good and balanced offense like this will cause pretty big problems for the Raiders. Through seven games, the Raiders are allowing opponents to score 27 points a game which ranks them 28th in the entire NFL. Not only do the Raiders have problems stopping teams from scoring, but their offense has been pretty blah this year too. Oakland is averaging 21 points a game which puts them right around the middle of the league. With a bad defense and average offense, success is limited. One bright spot for the Raiders though is their run game which they will rely heavily on this weekend against the Lions. Led by Josh Jacobs, the Raiders offense averages about 130 yards a game on the ground which puts them in the top ten in the NFL. This Sunday, Detroit will more than likely stack the box and force Oakland to throw more which will play into the hands of the Lions.

GAME PREDICTION:

I like Detroit a lot this Sunday. I already said this once, but the Lions are just a much better all around team than the Raiders. Yes, the travel will be a bit of an issue and any dome team that plays outside can have problems, but I just think the Lions will go into Oakland Sunday and handle business. This will not be a blowout by any means but I can see an early shootout with Detroit eventually getting some stops late in the game. I like the Lions to win this game something like 31-27 over the Raiders on Sunday. Matthew Stafford will be player of the game with about 275 yards passing and three scores….watch.

Bob’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Take the Detroit Lions plus the points and straight up over the Raiders this Sunday in Oakland.