Raiders vs. Bills Pick
Will the Buffalo Bills stand tall at home and pick up a cover against the up-and-down Oakland Raiders today at 1PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Buffalo is a slight favorite at home, as the Bills are getting odds of -2.5 points against the Raiders. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 46.5 points. The home team has won six straight meetings in this serie, but the Raiders have covered the spread in five straight against the Bills. The public betting in this one has Oakland getting 64 percent of the wagers on the road. Today’s game takes place from New Era Field in Buffalo, New York and the game will air live on CBS.
The Bills are coming off a 30-27 win over the Bucs at home last week to move to 4-2 on the season. Buffalo is 4-1-1 against the spread this season and 2-0-1 ATS at home. Buffalo is putting up just 19.8 points and 314 yards per game right now. Tyrod Taylor has thrown for just 1,178 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 174 yards. LeSean McCoy is the leading rusher with only 370 yards and two scores. He is also the leading active receiver with 32 catches for 220 yards. Defensively, Buffalo is allowing just 16.8 points and 355.8 yards per game. Their pass defense is giving up 271.3 yards per contest. Micah Hyde is leading the defense with 25 tackles and four interceptions.
Oakland is coming off a big 31-30 win over the Chiefs last week to snap a four-game losing streak. The Raiders are now 3-4 on the season and 3-4 against the spread. The Raiders are 1-2 ATS on the road. Oakland’s offense has been sputtering most of the year, putting up 22.1 points and 322.3 yards per contest. Derek Carr has thrown for 1,341 yards and 11 touchdowns with four interceptions. Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree have combined for 684 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Marshawn Lynch is the leading rusher with 266 yards, but is suspended for this game. Defensively, Oakland is allowing 22.3 points and 370.7 yards per contest. They have yet to record an interception in 2017.
This is a tough call because Oakland has been so back-and-forth that you aren’t sure what team is going to show up. Traveling to the East probably doesn’t help the cause. Buffalo has a defense that will be up to the challenge of stopping this Oakland pass game and the Raiders don’t have much of a run game to turn to. Though the Raiders have been strong at Buffalo in the past, I don’t like the way this game shapes up. Buffalo will make this a grind and Oakland hasn’t proven it can win physical games. Low-scoring games don’t favor the Raiders.
NFL WEEK 8 PREDICTION: BUFFALO BILLS -2.5