The Denver Broncos (10-2) take on the Oakland Raiders (5-7) with the Broncos’ three-game win streak on the line. The NFL’s fourth-leading rusher, Latavius Murray (851 yards, 5 TDs), will play an integral role in the outcome of this game. It will air Sunday, Dec 13 at 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS.
Denver will have a chance to extend their five-game winning streak against Oakland this week. Their last meeting came in Week 5, a 16-10 victory for the Broncos. Chris Harris Jr. led the Broncos defensive effort in the last meeting, recording three tackles and one interception. Emmanuel Sanders had a great game as well, adding 111 yards on nine catches. Charles Woodson led the defensive effort for Oakland, recording one tackle and two interceptions.
The Raiders are a six-point underdog against the Broncos and the Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 44 points.
Sitting at 10-2 Straight Up (SU) and 7-4-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Broncos will look to improve heading into Week 14. In their five most recent matchups, the Broncos went 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. Oakland’s offense will face a tough challenge against the fourth-ranked Broncos run defense, which gives up 88.8 rushing yards per game. An important aspect of the game will be if the Raiders can fend off Denver’s ability to force turnovers. The Broncos currently rank third in the league with 1.9 turnovers per game. The Broncos are one of the best in the league at scoring in the fourth quarter, averaging 8.8 points. On average, Denver has possession of the football for 32:58 per home game, which ranks fourth in the NFL.
Across the field, the Raiders head into Week 14 with records of 6-6 ATS and 5-7 SU. Over their last five games, the Raiders have a SU record of 1-4 and a 2-3 record ATS. The Broncos are matching up with Oakland’s pass defense at an inopportune time. Over the last five games, opponents only averaged 227.6 yards through the air, lower than Oakland’s season average of 271.1 yards. The Raiders defense will look to take advantage of Denver’s offensive line, which sometimes showcases poor blocking. They currently give up an average of 2.8 sacks per home game, 28th in the league. The Broncos will have to stay focused in the second quarter against Oakland. The Raiders finish off the first half with intensity, averaging 9.2 points during the second quarter.
Predictions: SU Winner – Den, ATS Winner – Den, O/U – Under
Notes
Denver is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games.
Denver is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Denver’s last 12 games when playing Oakland.
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Oakland.
Denver is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Oakland.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Denver’s last 6 games when playing at home against Oakland.
Denver is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games when playing at home against Oakland.
Oakland is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games when playing on the road against Denver.
Oakland is 5-3 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Denver is 8-0 SU when leading after three quarters.
Denver is an even 2-2 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (6-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
According to overall NFL pass rankings, Denver is rated higher on both sides of the ball. Its 18th-ranked offensive passing game will face the 28th-ranked pass defense of Oakland, while its first-ranked pass defense will look to limit the eighth-ranked aerial attack of the Raiders.
Oakland has allowed 24.7 points per contest on the road, which is ranked only 21st in the league. Denver has put up 22.8 points per game at home (ranked 17th overall).
