NFL Handicapping – Jaguars vs Raiders Betting Spread / Matchup
Venue/ Stadium: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, CA
Time/Date: 4:25 PM EST Sunday, October 21, 2012
NFL Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: Jags +210 / Raiders -270
Spread: Raiders -4
Over/Under: 44
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Oakland Raiders Preview
The Jaguars and Raiders are both at 1-4 and each team has lost 2 straight. The Jaguars have one thing going for them and that is they are coming off a bye so they will be well-rested. The Raiders may have some confidence not only because they are home facing a weak Jags’ team, but also in their last game they played well and almost beat the Falcons, who are the last undefeated team in the league. NFL lines have the Raiders as a 4-point home favorite with a total 44.
In their last games the Raiders lost to the Atlanta Falcons 23-20 and the Jags were crushed losing to the Chicago Bears 41-3.
On the season the Jags are 2-3 ATS and they have an Over/Under record of 2-3 and the Raiders are 2-3 ATS with an Over/Under record of 2-3.
In the Falcons’ game the Raiders were solid on both sides of the ball, as they ranked up 474 yards of total offense, they rushed for almost 150 yards, and they had 3 INT. If they play like that again facing Jacksonville, who are coming off 2 of their worst losses ever, they should easily win this game.
Carson Palmer played well last week and he has a pretty good WR corps and he leads the Raiders and their 12th ranked pass defense. The Jags only have the league’s 23rd ranked pass defense and their secondary will likely not get much help from the pass rush that ranks dead last in the league with only 3 sacks in 5 games.
The Jags have a terrible run defense ranking 30th in the league, but they will be facing Raiders/ RB Darren McFadden, who is only averaging 3.2 yards per carry. However, the last time these 2 teams met he had 209 yards from scrimmage and had 3 TD. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Raiders’ defense only ranks 25th against the pass and 18th against the run, but they will be going up against a Jags’ offense that may be the weakest in the NFL. By may I mean they do, as Jacksonville ranks dead last in the league in total offense (241.2 yards per game), passing yards per game (142.8 ypg) and scoring (13.0 ppg). Blaine Gabbert has not progressed as a QB, but it does not help he lacks weapons on the outside. High draft pick Justin Blackmon has not panned out yet, but the Jags have stated he will be more involved in the offense this week.
The key to the Jags winning this game is the play of RB Maurice Jones-Drew, who has been decent this season, but since the Jags have gotten down early in their games he has not gotten as many touches and the team would like. If the Raiders can shut him down they will be sitting pretty.
In some betting trends for this AFC match up the Jags are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 road games and they have an Under record of 7-2-1 in their last road games.
The Raiders are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a losing road record and they have an Over record of 5-1 in their last 6 home games.
Jason’s Pick: I think the Raiders will easily win this game and cover the spread. I see this game getting ugly, as the Jags will get blown out.
