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Buccaneers vs. Raiders Gambling Odds & Week 9 Free NFL Pick

Tampa Bay vs Oakland Betting

Headline: The Strive for .500 – Bucs vs. Raiders in Week 9

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head to Oakland this week – both teams will be looking to build of Week 8 wins and will be in search of a respectable 4-4 record. We saw some good things from both of these teams in Week 8 – both are still alive as far as the playoffs go but each needs a win to keep that dream alive.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) vs. Oakland Raiders (3-4)
Date/Time: Sunday, November 4 4:05 PM ET
Venue: O. Co Coliseum
Broadcast: FOX
Bucs vs. Raiders Betting Lines from betonline.com
Spread: Raiders -1 (-120)
Moneyline: Bucs +100: Raiders -120
Over/Under: 45 1/2 points

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The Tampa bay Buccaneers have come alive in recent weeks, thanks in large part to the improved play of the offense. Josh Freeman is playing arguably the best football of his career at the moment – he has three TD passes in each of his last three games. Doug Martin has also elevated the level of his game becoming a dual threat every down back that the Bucs envisioned when they drafted him this year.

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Tampa Bay comes into Sunday’s game with the league’s 14th ranked passing game – Vincent Jackson has made a real difference and Mike Williams has thrived as a #2 guy. The running game has also come into its own. They are 15th in the NFL averaging 110 yards per game but you have to figure that their ranking will creep up with the stellar recent play of Doug Martin.

All told, Tampa Bay is no joke on offense and against the Raiders somewhat poor defense there is no reason to think that their momentum will be slowed this week.

Defensively, Tampa has been good against the run – a good sign with a looming matchup against Darren McFadden. They are 6th in the NFL at present giving up an average of 85.14 yards per game. Where they have struggled is in pass defense – 31st in the NFL surrendering 309.57 yards per game.

The Oakland Raiders took some time to get it going this year but Carson Palmer finally looks comfortable and Darren McFadden has seemingly woken from his season long slumber. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Carson Palmer and the Raiders passing game rank 10th in the NFL with an average of 264 yards per game. Brandon Myers leads the Raiders in receiving with 31 catches, Denarius Moore has 26 catches and four touchdowns, and Marcel Reece has 18 catches. The passing game is gaining some steam and will have an opportunity to exploit the second worst pass defense in the NFL Sunday.

Darren McFadden and the Oakland rushing attack is inexplicably 30th in the NFL in rushing – they have been poor even against the weakest of run defenses. McFadden did have his best game in some time last week although he was stopped for minimal gains or losses more times than I can count.

As far as Oakland’s defense goes, it has been status quo. They have shown signs of improvement but they still give up 26.17 points per game – good for 25th in the league. The Raiders 11th ranked rush defense will be in charge of slowing down an emerging Tampa rushing offense while the league’s 20th ranked pass defense will have to hope to slow a confident Bucs passing game.

Betting Prediction:

• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 games
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 games on the road
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 games when playing Oakland
• Tampa Bay is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Oakland
• The total has gone OVER in 6 of Oakland’s last 7 games at home
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oakland’s last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
• Oakland is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Tampa Bay
• Oakland is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games

Sunday’s game should be close. Both teams have a certain amount of momentum going for them. What this game will likely boil down to is the kicking games of both teams – Oakland possesses a Pro Bowl punter and a Pro Bowl field goal kicker. They make the difference in a tight affair.

Pick: Oakland Raiders -1

By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.