Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
Sunday, 10/24/2010, 4:15 PM EST, TV: CBS
Opening Point Spread: Denver -7
Current Betting Line: Denver -7.5
Opening Total: 42.5
Current Total: 42.5
Current Moneyline: Denver -330 / Oakland +280
Oakland travels to Denver for an AFC West matchup with the Broncos and both teams enter the game with matching 2-4 records. The Raiders know they will have their hands filled with Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton, who has nine touchdown passes on the season and a 94.2 passer rating. “We have to get Kyle out of rhythm,” said head coach Tom Cable. “You have to do that. If he’s allowed to stand back there and throw it around, they’re very good at receiver.” Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha will be relied heavily upon in man coverage, as the defense has been burned on at least two occasions for touchdowns this year when straying from their usual man-to-man defense and playing zone. The team goes into this contest with a 1-0 record in the division, having beaten the Chargers, and won its last two games in Denver. Oakland is 14-13 ATS versus conference opponents.
The Raiders offense is entering off a forgettable performance in last week’s 17-9 road loss to San Francisco, managing a season-worst 179 total yards. Quarterback Jason Campbell went 8 of 21 for 83 yards and two interceptions and was starting in place of Bruce Gradkowski (shoulder). He suffered a sprained left knee in the loss and Cable has stated his availability this week will be a game-time decision. Third string quarterback Kyle Boller is likely to make the start of he can’t go, as he appeared in seven games last season with St. Louis, throwing for 899 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions. “I’ve pretty much stayed on top of it over the last six weeks and that’s part of your job.” Oakland’s game plan is likely to be build around running back Michael Bush, who gained 133 yards in last year’s 20-19 win over the Broncos.
Denver has faced some pretty stiff competition over the last two weeks in dropping back-to-back contests to the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets. The Broncos now get to kick off divisional play against a Raiders team that has no identity. “We’re not down on ourselves and we don’t look at the last game and say we played toe to toe with what’s supposed to be the best team,” said linebacker Mario Haggan. “We’re just coming here and going to work.” This week’s matchup represents the 100th regular-season meeting between the two AFC West rivals. Denver trails in the all-time series 41-56-2, but since 1995, the Broncos own a 22-8 advantage, including an 11-4 mark at home. The team is 5-14 ATS at home over the past three years and the total is 7-12 Over/Under.
The Broncos will definitely need to improve upon its 32nd-ranked running game to cover this number on Sunday, as Orton can’t be relied upon to continue producing at his current rate. The former Bears quarterback has passed for the second-most yards in the NFL at 1,942. Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd leads the league in receiving yards, with his 663 representing the most in franchise history through six games. The Broncos have been a mess on defense and have been flip-flopping from their usual 3-4 alignment with a 4-3 front on occasion.
Bettors may take a shot on the Raiders due to their 5-2 ATS mark following a SU loss, while the Broncos are a dismal 1-7 ATS in their last eight versus the AFC.
