Two teams already out of the playoffs will play in this season’s final installment of Monday Night Football on Christmas Eve as the Denver Broncos take on the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
For the Broncos, Case Keenum has completed 62.1% of his passes and has thrown for a total of 3,396 yards with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on the season. Keenum has thrown for less than two touchdowns in nine out of 13 games this season. Phillip Lindsay leads the ground attack with 991 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Lindsay gave the Broncos a moral victory by becoming the first undrafted offensive player in the history of the NFL to make the Pro Bowl during his rookie season. Emmanuel Sanders has caught 868 passing yards with four touchdowns but he went down with a torn achilles two weeks ago.
Denver is 21st in the league in scoring at 21.9 points per game. They are allowing 21.4 points per game which is ranked 10th in the entire league. Denver’s rush defense ranks 20th in the league at 120.2 yards per game and they are also 20th in yards per carry at 4.6.
Derek Carr has thrown for a total of 3,697 passing yards with 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions while completing 68.4% of his passes. Carr has not thrown an interception in his last nine games played. But he’s been sacked a career-high 47 times this season due to injuries and the inexperience of their offensive line.
Doug Martin is the most productive running back with 516 yards on the ground and four touchdowns scored. Jared Cook has caught six touchdowns passes and a total of 848 receiving yards this season. The Raiders only average 99.1 rushing yards per game and have missed Marshawn Lynch due to injury.
This might be the last game played at Oakland Stadium with owner Mark Davis moving the Raiders to Las Vegas in 2020. The city of Oakland has sued Davis because of that move and as a result, Davis is looking for another venue to host the team next season. That said, this game could mean most to Derek Carr who’s played home at the Oakland Coliseum throughout his NFL career.
Denver is 8-17 SU in their last 25 games overall. The Broncos are 4-13 SU in their last 17 road games. Meanwhile, Oakland is 3-15 SU in their last 18 games overall and the Raiders are 1-4 SU in their last five home games. Head to head, the Broncos are 11-3 SU in their last 14 meetings. Denver is also 11-4 SU in their last 15 games played in Oakland.
With their playoff hopes erased after their home loss to the Browns last week, the Broncos have nothing to play for here except perhaps pride. With the loss to Cleveland still sour in their mouths, I’m really not sure what to make of a team that’s just been eliminated from playoff contention and playing on the road on Christmas eve.
On the other hand, the Raiders have long been ousted from the playoffs and have accepted their fate as one of the contenders for the #1 overall pick in the next NFL draft. Playing in a meaningless game this season is nothing new to them. And then there’s the fact that they’ve played better in their last two games, beating Pittsburgh 24-21 the last time out and losing by just seven to Kansas City prior to that.
I haven’t picked the Raiders in any game this season but this is the first “meaningless” game that I’ve had to make a pick on. Given that the Raiders have been in this spot before and the Broncos must still be feeling down after missing out on the playoffs, I think I’m going to give Oakland my vote here. And yes, this possibly being the last game for the Raiders in this venue, I think Derek Carr will shine in this game. We’re picking the Oakland Raiders to beat a deflated Denver Broncos team on 12/24/18.
Denver is 6-3 ATS in their last nine games overall and the Broncos are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games. Oakland is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall and the Raiders ae 3-5-1 ATS in their last nine home games played. Head to head, Oakland is 4-2 ATS in their last six meetings with Denver. The Broncos are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against the Raiders in Oakland.
The Broncos are 2-8-2 ATS in their last dozen Monday Night Football games and 8-17-1 ATS in their last 26 games overall. The Raiders are 4-9-1 in their last 14 Monday Night Football game schedules and the home team is 5-0 ATS in the last five head to head meetings between these teams. I don’t like this game at all but if forced to make a pick, I’ll take the home team and the plus field goal here. Prediction: Raiders +3
The total has gone under in all five of the last games played by the Broncos. The under is 4-5 in the last five road games of Denver. The over is 4-1 in the Raiders’ last five games overall. The total has gone under in eight out of the last 11 home games played by the Raiders. Head to head, the total has gone under in six out of the last seven games played between these two teams. The under is also 4-2 in their last six games played in Oakland.
The Broncos are on a seven game under streak with an average combined score of 39.43 in those seven games. Meanwhile, the under has hit in six out of the last seven games for the Raiders. Denver should be able to eat up plenty of the clock with their running game which averages 137 rushing yards on the road will be pitted against the worst rush defense in the league. Prediction: Under 43.5
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