Washington Redskins (3-9 5-6-1 ATS) vs. Oakland Raiders (4-8 6-6 ATS), Week 14 NFL, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA 4:05 PM EST Sunday December 13, 2009 on FOX
by Jason Green at Predictem.com
Point Spread: Redskins -1 / Raiders +1
Over/Under: 38
In the Bay Area this Sunday afternoon the Oakland Raiders host the Washington Redskins. Man, the luck for the Redskins can’t get any worse. They played great last weekend against the undefeated Saints and could have iced the game, but they missed a chip shot 23-yard field goal and then turned the ball over in OT.
Much like the Redskins not much has gone right for the raiders this season, but in their last game they beat the defending champion Steelers and in Pittsburgh no less. The Raiders have shown some life on offense since Bruce Gradkowski took over for JeMarcus Russell as the Oakland’s starting QB.
The Redskins’ recently put RB Clinton Portis on IR so he is done for the season and Washington really could have used him facing the weak defense of the Raiders. Even though the Raiders only have 4 wins, 3 of those wins are against teams that are in the playoff picture in the Bengals, Eagles, and Steelers.
Last week the Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 while the Redskins lost to the New Orleans Saints 33-30 in OT.
This season the Raiders are 2-4 at home while the Redskins have yet to win a game this season on the road (0-6).
In the Raiders win over the Steelers QB Bruce Gradkowski tossed a TD with 9 seconds left to seal the win. The Oakland offense was pretty dormant for most of the game, but then they blew up and scored 21 points in the 4th quarter. Overall the stats are pretty even and the Raiders had a solid game with 287 passing yards and 109 rushing yards. The Raiders were underdogs by 15 points so they obviously covered the spread and the posted total of 37 was surpassed.
The Redskins came oh so close to ruining the Saints and their perfect record, but, once again, mistakes killed them. Shaun Suisham missed a 23-yard FG with only 1:52 remaining that would have put the Redskins up by 10. Drew Brees drove the Saints down the field and tossed a TD pass that tied the game. After playing his best game of the season Jason Campbell was intercepted and the game went to OT. The Skins won the toss and then promptly fumbled the ball. Brees then drove the Saints easily down the field and they kicked a FG to win it. The Redskins did have 367 passing yards and 88 rushing yards, but their 4 turnovers killed them. The Skins were underdogs by 9 points so they covered the spread and the posted total of 47 was surpassed.
The big question for the Redskins is, can they get over last week’s crushing loss?
Jason Campbell did have a big day last week and he will have another big game against the Raiders, as they have the league’s 29th ranked defense.
The Skins are down to their 3rd string RB in Rock Cartwright and even though he has not picked up big yards yet this season he will do so in this game. The Raiders have the 2nd worst rushing defense in the NFL giving up an average of 158.7 yards per game on the ground.
Both of these teams rank 2nd in their respective conferences in giveaways this season, but look for the Redskins to hold onto the ball in this game, as they will run the ball often to exploit the weak Raiders run defense. Rock Cartwright has 58 carries this season and he has not coughed up the ball once.
Oakland’s offense ranks 31st in the league, but putting up 21 points on the Steelers and their solid defense should cause the Redskins some concerns. However, even though the Redskins have had trouble stopping the run this season their secondary is legit. Look for Gradkowski to look like he did in the first 3 quarters in the Pittsburgh game not the one who looked like an All Pro in the 4th quarter.
Oakland’ offensive line has allowed 33 sacks this season and the Redskins will get to him a few times in this game.
Jason’s Pick: Even though the Raiders beat the Steelers and the Redskins lost to the Saints the Redskins are a better team. The Redskins have been killed by mistakes the whole season and it won’t get any better for them on the road at Oakland this Week. The Raidas win this game and cover the spread.
