New York Giants (2-9 SU, 4-7 ATS) vs. Oakland Raiders (5-6 SU, 4-6-1 ATS)
NFL Week 13
Date/Time: Sunday, December 3, 2017 at 4:25 P.M. ET
Where: Oakland Coliseum
TV: Fox
by Jerbeek, Expert Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: NYG +7/Oak -7
Over/Under Total: 42.5
The New York Giants will travel to Oakland to take on the Raiders in week 13 action. The Giants had high hopes entering the 2017 season but have had a tough time and squarely have put Head Coach Ben McAdoo on the hot seat after starting the season with 5 straight losses. The Raiders find themselves on the cusp of the division lead after the surprising falter of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders have won 2 of their last 3 games to pull into a 2nd place tie with the Los Angeles Chargers just 1 game behind the Chiefs. The Raiders are also just 1 game behind in the Wild Card race so this game is very important for them. The Giants are coming off a Thanksgiving night loss to the Redskins in a game where there offense could not muster a first down in the 2nd half until their last drive of the game which ended on an Eli Manning interception. The Raiders defeated the Denver Broncos in week 12 by a score of 21-14 in a game marred by a huge fight that erupted between Aqib Talib and Michael Crabtree. Both players were ejected for their roles in the fight and then the Raiders also lost WR Amari Cooper later in the game so they were without their top 2 receivers for the rest of the game.
The Giants 2017 struggles have been evident in the offense who is averaging just 15.6 points per game. QB Eli Manning is only averaging 204 yards per game has 11 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on the season. Manning lost his top WR in week 4 when Odell Beckham Jr. was lost for the season with a broken foot. Word broke Wednesday that Manning is now being benched in favor of Geno Smith. If Geno looks bad, they may make an in game switch to the third stringer. Things are surely in limbo here. The G-Men have all struggled on the ground with revolving running back by committee. The committee has been led by Orleans Darkwa who leads the team with 519 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns. WR Sterling Shephard leads the team in receiving but has been very inconsistent as he went for 142 yards in week 12 but only had 133 yards combined in the previous 3 games. The Giant offense has averaged only 5.7 per pass attempt against teams that give up an average of 6.7 yards per attempt. Overall the Giants are only gaining 5.0 yards per play against teams that allow 5.7 yards per play.
The Raiders also started the season with high hopes after finishing 2016 with a 12-4 record and then starting this season 2-0. In weeks 3-6 the Raiders offense had some serious struggles and only 11 points a game a lost all 4 games. QB Derek Carr was injured in week 4 and missed week 5 with a back injury but has since returned to lead the Raiders to wins in 3 of their last 5 games. Carr has not seen the success he had in 2016 translate into this season has he has only averaging 237 yards per game and has 16 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. The Raiders coaxed RB Marshawn Lynch out of retirement but have not really seen dividends from that signing as he is only averaging 3.7 yards per carry but he does have 5 rushing touchdowns. WR Amari Cooper has also regressed as he only has only has 499 yards receiving and has had several drops. The Raiders have been slightly above average as they have averaged 5.7 yards per play against teams that average 5.5 yards per play.
The Giants defense hit a season low when they gave up 51 points to the Rams and then the following week gave up 31 points to San Francisco bringing about questions as to whether they were giving an all out effort. This is never a good sign and is a good indicator that the Head Coach will not be lasting much longer. The defense did bounce back by holding the Kansas City Chiefs to 9 points in a surprising win. The struggles have been against both rushing and passing as they are below average in both categories and have been giving up an average of 24.3 points per game.
The Raiders defense has allowed 23.7 points per game and the main concern has been against passing teams as they have allowed 7.5 yards per pass against teams that average 6.5 yards. They have allowed 300 yard passers in 3 of the last 5 games.
Jerbeeks Pick to Cover the Point Spread: The question in this game is whether QB Geno Smith can take advantage of the porous pass defense of the Raiders. I think he can and that will force the Raider Offense to try to exploit the weakness of the Giants which is their defense. I see a shootout in Oakland and am calling for a Raider win of 27-24. My recommendation is to play over the total of 42.5 points. – Bet this game for FREE by taking advantage of a FAT 100% bonus up to $1000 at MyBookie! (Use Promo Code: PRDCT14)