BetUS NFL betting odds: DENVER -9.5, Total 42.5
NOTABLE STAT: Raiders have scored 50 points in the last six games
KEY NFL FOOTBALL BETTING TREND: Denver has played 12 of its last 18 home games over the total
(For more useful stats and trends, visit our special Matchup Tool)
The Oakland Raiders (2-8 SU, 4-6 ATS) sure enough found another way to lose last weekend. On Sunday they will travel to the Mile High City to play the AFC West rival Denver Broncos (6-4 SU, 3-6-1 ATS) in NFL football sports betting action that is set to kick off at 4:05 PM ET at Invesco Field (natural turf) in Denver.
In the BetUS NFL football betting odds, the Broncos are listed as a 9.5-point favorite, with a posted total of 42.5 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this sports betting matchup:
* OAK has covered two of its last seven games
* OAK has lost seven of its last eight games SU
* OAK has played five of its last six games UNDER the total
* OAK has lost 21 of its last 24 road games SU
* OAK has played six of its last nine road games OVER the total
* DEN is 2-6-1 ATS in its last nine games
* DEN has played four of its last six games UNDER the total
* DEN is 0-4-1 ATS in its last five home games
* DEN has won six of its last eight home games SU
* DEN has played 12 of its last 18 home games OVER the total
* DEN has played four of its last six games UNDER the total
Also...
* OAK has covered four of the last five meetings
* DEN has won six of the last seven meetings SU
* DEN has won 11 of the last 13 meetings SU as the home team
* Five of the last seven meetings in Denver have gone UNDER the total
The really good thing about the Tom Cable era in Oakland is that it will probably soon come to an end. In the six games the Raiders have played under their interim head coach, they have scored a grand total of 50 points. This team has not produced an offensive touchdown in the last 13 quarters of football. JaMarcus Russell is starting to find more and more people who would consider him to be a draft "bust"; he is barely 50% accurate on the season,and this club has converted on only 22.1% of its third down situations, which is the worst figure in the entire league.
Also, Oakland has tallied only 33 points in the first halves of games all season. To put that into perspective, in the last two games, the St. Louis Rams have allowed 40 and 35 points, in the first halves of their last two games. That's why even though the Raiders would appear to have a backfield edge against Denver, whose running game in really in tatters right now, they won't likely have a chance to exploit it, since Denver has the ability to get off to a very big start against them.
If you recall, Jay Cutler was nearly unstoppable the first time around, which was in the season's first game. He found Eddie Royal on nine different occasions, for 146 yards. The Broncos won a 41-14 decision in that one, and they didn't even have the services of Brandon Marshall, who was sitting out the game on a suspension. With Cutler getting protected as well as anybody (only seven sacks suffered), he will operate without much impediment.
Neither team is very good at stopping the run (Denver yields 4.9 yards a carry; Oakland gives up 4.8), and this category might be a standoff, because the Raider ground attack might become moot. When you're as bad as they have been on offense, you can't afford stupid mistakes, and the Raiders have been penalized 30 more times than their opponents have this season.
Don't forget also that if the opportunity presents itself, Mike Shanahan will surely rub it in against his former boss, Al Davis. Denver has not shown a home field advantage lately (0-4-1 ATS in last five), but in this case, they may find one. Lay the points with the Broncos, the 9.5-point favorite in the BetUS NFL pro football betting odds.
PLAY: DENVER -9.5 ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)