NFL Betting Previews- Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos |
Point spread: Denver -3 Over/Under: 40
The Oakland Raiders close-out Week 1 in the NFL against a familiar foe when they tangle with the Denver Broncos in the second game of a Monday night double-header at Mile High Stadium. Kick-off is set for 10:15 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Oakland is coming off one of its best seasons in recent memory with an 8-8 record and third-place finish in the AFC West. While it may not seem like much, it was the first non-losing season since 2002. The Raiders still struggled on the road with a 3-5 straight up record.
There may be some cause for concern for new head coach Hue Jackson heading into this season after his team went 0-4 in the preseason while getting outscored 101-44. He remains confident that quarterback Jason Campbell is still capable of leading this team back to the postseason and has named him the starter for this game. Fortunately, he will have a decent running game to fall back on with running backs Michael Bush and Michael Bennett leading the way.
Denver’s recent woes continued in 2010 with a last-place finish in the division after posting an overall record of 4-12. It had some success at Mile High with a 3-5 SU home record, but overall, this team was just flat out bad last year.
Kyle Orton will get the call as the Broncos’ starting quarterback after some offseason attempts to trade the six-year veteran never materialized. Lance Ball and Knowshon Moreno both looked pretty good running the ball in the preseason and Eric Decker and Matt Willis did a good job catching it, but Denver still lacks any real playmakers at these skill positions, so Orton could have his work cut out for him this year.
The Raiders have won five of the last seven games in this series SU and are 8-2 against the spread in the last 10 meetings. The total has gone ‘over’ in six of the last eight games overall.
This time around, stick with Oakland to keep things rolling with an opening-day victory as the three-point road dog.
The Pick: Oakland 23 Denver 17
