Oakland Raiders (4-8 SU, 7-4–1 ATS) vs. New York Jets (5-7 SU, 6-6 ATS)
NFL Week 14
Date and Time: Sunday, December 8, 1:00pm
Where: MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, NJ
TV: CBS
by Bob, Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: OAK +3/NYJ -3
Over/Under Total: 40.5
Sunday, December 8, the Oakland Raiders will travel to
the upper east coas to take on the New York Jets. Oakland
sits in last place in the AFC West and New York is 3rd place in the AFC
East with a 5-7 record. New York comes in as a home favorite and the total
points are 40.5. Anytime I am assigned to predict a game involving the Jets
I just sit back and hope for the best. They are the hardest team to gauge
in my opinion. They are a complete roller coaster of emotion, talent, and
expectations. You just never know what you are going to get. Are we going
to get the team that beat the New England Patriots or are we going to get
the team that just lost to the Dolphins 23-3? A large part of the problem
is the quarterback play. People want to point the finger at Geno Smith,
but hasn’t QB play been the Achilles heel of the Jets for the last five
years? This game will come down to that for both sides. Whoever has the
best quarterback play will win. But that is a total toss up.
Like mentioned already, the Jets have been all over the place this season. They have wins over New England and New Orleans, but losses to Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Buffalo. You just never know what will happen. On a positive note, the Jets do have a 4-2 record at home, while the Raiders have only one road win all season. Another major factor that works in the Jets favor is that they have the best rushing defense in all of the NFL. This is a big key because the Raiders success always depends on their run game. Oakland is ranked 29th in the NFL in passing, and if the Jets take away the run game too, it could be a long day for the Raiders. Not only does the Jets defense play a huge role in this, but Geno Smith must recover from last week. He was pulled from the loss in Miami, and if you saw the highlites, you would know why…he looked awful. He was 4 for 10 passing with just 29 yards before Rex Ryan decided to pull the plug on him for the day. Ryan has confirmed however that Geno will be starting this game on Sunday. If Smith plays the way we have seen his is capable of, the Jets should be ok.
Oakland comes into this weekend as a three point dog and rightfully so. They have only won once on the road this season and that was at Houston, which really isn’t much to be proud of since the Texans haven’t won a game since September. Oakland may have a 4-8 record overall, but against the spread this season, they have done pretty well. One thing you have to look at is the division they play in. How many teams could have a winning record playing Denver and Kansas City within your division, while traveling Indianapolis and New York for non division games. Oakland plays hard. They play good defense, and can run the ball. If Oakland can force Geno to have another less than stellar performance, then I like their chances in this game.
Bob’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: This game is a hard one to pick. Like I explained with the Jets, you just never know which team will show up. I am going on a limb here and I am taking Oakland. Oakland has played a tougher overall schedule, and they have also played better as of late. Not only that, I just don’t trust Geno Smith so soon after the disaster that just took place against Miami. The betting action appears be just about even with a tad more action being laid on the Jets. I just like the underdogs in these types of games. I think Oakland will go on the road and get the much needed win. Oakland wins 23-21. PICK DA RAIDAS!!!! +3! Also, bet over the posted total in this game.
