New England Patriots (-4) at Oakland Raiders, Total 55 |
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New England had its 15-game win streak over Buffalo snapped in last week’s 34-31 loss, failing to hold onto a 21-point lead. The Patriots will now head out on the road for a second consecutive week with the league’s best offense.
The Patriots are averaging 34.7 points per game, which would be second all-time in team history, just behind the 36.8 it scored in 2007. Offensively, the team has scored 13 touchdowns so far.
Quarterback Tom Brady is the catalyst of the team’s performance, throwing for 1,327 yards through three games. He set the NFL mark for the most passing yards ever in a three-game stretch.
The team’s current streak of 11 games of 30-or-more points is second in NFL history behind the 14 straight games by the St. Louis Rams in 1999-2000. Brady has thrown two more more touchdown passes in 12 consecutive regular season games.
Wide receiver Wes Welker is coming off a career game, finishing with 217 receiving yards, which broke the franchise record of 214 set by Terry Glenn. He also came away with 16 receptions as a personal best.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of focus is spent on trying to stop the Oakland Raiders rushing attack, as it leads the league with 185 yards per game. “They definitely like to run the ball,” commented Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. “They throw enough deep balls and they do enough in the passing game to make you worry about that, too.”
Bettors will find that the Patriots are 6-1 ATS in October and 9-7 ATS on the road the last two-plus campaigns.
Oakland is set to play in front of a sold out crowd for the second consecutive week, coming off a 34-24 win over the New York Jets as three-point home underdogs. The Raiders are 2-1 on the season despite being out-gained in all three games this year.
Running back Darren McFadden leads the league with 393 yards on the ground and has been a major part of the team’s ability to dominate opponents at the line of attack. “He’s big, fast, good vision, strong runner,” commented the Patriots coaching staff. “He can do it all.”
A lot of media focus on this game will be focused squarely on Raiders defensive lineman Richard Seymour going against his former team, as he was traded to the Bay Area team from New England for a first-round draft pick in 2011. The Patriots haven’t had a Super Bowl type defense since he left.
NFL betting handicappers will find that the Raiders are 3-0 ATS this season, all as underdogs, while also being 19-16 ATS over the last two-plus years.
