Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) 3-5 ATS, 4-2 O/U at Oakland Raiders (2-6) 4-4 ATS, 3-5 O/U, Week 10 NFL, Sunday November 15, 2009 4:05 p.m. EST TV: CBS
By Wilson of Predictem.com
Point Spread: Kansas City +1/Oakland -1
Over/Under: 36.5
The last time these two teams tangled was in week 3 in KC when the Raiders won 13-10. There are just three wins between the two squads which should make for another close battle. Kansas City lost their seventh game of the year last week to the Jaguars 24-21. KC QB Matt Cassel was 23 of 39 for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns. He connected with Chris Chambers three times for 70 yards and two touchdowns in Chambers debut as a Chief. But it was not enough as the Jaguars recovered a kick and held onto the lead for the win.
The Chiefs have struggled this year with the running game as they only had 60 yards rushing against the Jaguars and average 96 per game. Offensively, KC is averaging just 15 points per game while they allow 25 to their opponents. They are only gaining 3 yards per carry and 5 yards per pass attempt. Its tough to move the ball with those kinds of numbers.
KC gives up 136 yards on the ground per game and 252 through the air. The Chiefs have not been shutout but they cant seem to finish off most teams.
The Raiders are coming into this game after a 24-16 loss at San Diego last weekend. Oakland only has two wins on the season and one of those is against the Chiefs 13-10. Oakland is even more pathetic on offense than Kansas City as they only average 9.8 points per contest. The Raiders also allow 25 points per game to the opposition.
JaMarcus Russell continues to struggle as he has zero touchdowns in four road trips and his turnovers keep mounting up. He was 14 of 22 for 109 yards but the Raiders finished the day with just 81 yards passing. Russell had a fumble and one interception in the game. The big question around the league is how long will the Raiders continue to give Russell the pigskin? Russell was also sacked five times to add to his already dismal outing. I dont see the Raiders making great leaps of improvement anytime soon. Coach Cable remains optimistic regarding Russell.
Raiders coach, Tom Cable said that Russell seemed to be in control during this game today, and gave us a chance to win. Maybe Russell is maturing and understanding how things work, but I doubt it.
KC is 13-6 ATS in their last 19 road games, and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The under is 12-3-1 in Oakland the last 16 games in November. Under is 7-3 in Oaklands last 10 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 8-1 in the last 9 meetings. The road team in this series is 18-7-1 ATS in the last 26 meetings.
The QB matchup in this game is a no-brainer as JaMarcus Russell has a QB rating of 48.3 compared to Matt Cassels 77.2 rating. Cassel has 10 TDs on the season to Russells 2. Cassels completion rate is 55.7 percent while Russells is 48.35. Oakland has won 6 of the last 10 meetings. The last two meetings have been decided by 7 points or less.
The line on this game opened at Oakland -1.5 with a total of 36.5 but most online casinos are posting Oakland at -2 and the total also 36.5.
Combined, these two teams have only won 3 of the last 20 games that they have played. It should lean towards Kansas City but the Raiders can put together random runs which will make this game a tricky bet.
Wilsons Pick: KC 21, Oakland 10. Luck to ya.
