Raiders vs. Broncos Gambling & NFL Free Prediction (Week 1)

Gambling Matchup Week 1 – Oakland Raiders vs Denver Broncos

The opening weekend of the NFL regular season will finish on Monday night with one of the most storied rivalries in the league when the Oakland Raiders head to Mile High to face off against the Denver Broncos.  

Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos
Venue/Stadium: Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado
Time/Date: 10:15 PM ET, Monday, September 12, 2011
NFL Odds From: Bookmaker.com —>
Moneyline: Broncos -160, Raiders +140
Spread (ATS): Broncos -3 ½, -105
Over/Under: 40, -110
Grab The In Depth ATS Betting Report – Click Here!

Both teams offseason’s were shrouded in talks about their respective quarterbacks, especially Tim Tebow’s fate in Denver.

The Broncos seem to be over their quarterback situation and ready to roll with Kyle Orton, which was one of the smartest moves the franchise has made in a long time.

Orton will provide new head coach John Fox with a veteran to be the leader of his offense, which I’m sure will be a sigh of relief to him.

The Raiders on the other hand, have had their quarterback situation settled for quite some time now, and Jason Campbell will go into the season the clear-cut starter and leader of this team.

Campbell (2,387 yards, 13 TDs) helped the Raiders dominate the AFC West a year ago, going 6-0 against the division, and ending a streak of seven straight seasons with double-digits losses. But it still didn’t save head coach Tom Cable’s job.

It will be interesting to see if he has what it takes to be the leader of such an instable franchise.

Regardless of quarterback situations, both of these are going to want to run the ball, especially the Raiders.

The Raiders finished 2010 ranked second in rushing yards, and bring back the majority of the squad. The only piece that hasn’t returned is left guard Robert Gallery. Darren McFadden, who was ranked second overall in the league with 128.0 yards from scrimmage per gain 2010, will be the star on this team, and most of opposing game plans will focus on his exclusively, leaving room for Campbell to pick apart defenses short.

That could be a problem for the Broncos’ biggest weakness in 2010 — their soft defense. They did improve tremendously on that side of the ball over the offseason by bringing in Fox to help beef up a defense that allowed an NFL-high 471 points last season. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

The only question is, did they do enough?

The Raiders destroyed the Broncos in two meetings last season, outscoring them 98-37. Including a 59-31 thrashing in which McFadden racked up four touchdowns.

NFL Week 1 Trends:

OAK are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 Mon. games.
Over is 9-3 in OAK last 12 vs. AFC.
Over is 10-4-1 in OAK last 15 games in September.
Over is 7-2 in DEN last 9 vs. AFC West.
Over is 16-5 in DEN last 21 games overall.
Over is 12-4 in DEN last 16 vs. AFC.
OAK are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 meetings.
Over is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings.

Matt’s Prediction: Raiders 21, Broncos 17

Expect this game to be close and exciting, but the Raiders will end their prime-time drought and win their season opener. It is hard to expect Denver’s defense to be able to hold up against the three/four-headed monster that is the Raiders’ running game.

This is a great pick with the Broncos 3 ½ point favorites, but I wouldn’t take the over, that’s for sure.

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