The NFL lost an iconic figure in Al Davis this past week. But Davis’ Oakland Raiders honored their former owner’s memory with an emotional road win at Houston. The Raiders are starting to look more and more like a legitimate playoff team. The offense can run the ball better than any other team, and as long as Jason Campbell doesn’t make too many mistakes this team should be in the thick of the playoff race. Even the defense is starting to come around. In the words of Al Davis, ‘Just win baby.’
The lines are up and have seen some early movement. Below is a sampling of a few week 6 matchups. To see all of the week 6 lines, navigate to the pro football betting lines page.
Washington (pick) vs. Philadelphia – The stumbling Eagles opened as a 1 ½ point road favorite for their game at Washington, but the sharps have pulled that down to a pick or even the Redskins favored by a point. Philly needs to right the proverbial ship soon because they’ve already dug a big hole they need to get out of. They lost again last week to move to 1-4 for the season. If they drop this game to Washington, it’s hard to believe they’ll be playing in January.
Giants (-3) vs. Buffalo – The Giants opened as a 3 point favorite against Buffalo and the line has stayed steady so far. New York looked like they were going to pull out a late win against Seattle, but a late interception by Eli Manning was returned for the backbreaking touchdown. With Philadelphia, Dallas, and New York having unforeseen problems, somehow Washington looks like a legitimate threat to win the NFC East. The Bills put away the Eagles to move to 4-1 and are technically leading the AFC East.
Baltimore (-6 ½) vs. Houston – The Ravens started as 5 ½ point favorites against Houston but that’s been nudged up to 6 ½. Baltimore is coming off their bye so they should be rested and well prepared. The Texans lost a close game to the Raiders last week. Arian Foster was bottled up all day and the absence of Andre Johnson was certainly a factor, especially at the goal line late in the game.
New England (-7) vs. Dallas – The Patriots started as 7 point favorites against Dallas and the line hasn’t moved yet. New England is coming off a nice win against their hated rival, the New York Jets. The Cowboys are coming off a much needed bye week. It’ll be interesting to see how Tony Romo bounces back this week. The Dallas defense will have their hands full this week.
Jets (-9) vs. Miami – The Jets opened as 8 point favorites against the Dolphins but that’s already gone up to 9 points. The biggest problem for Miami is they simply don’t have a decent quarterback to play. Chad Henne wasn’t going to lead them to a Super Bowl, but at least he was serviceable. Considering how awful the Jets’ offense has been this season, points should be at a premium on Monday night.
Oakland (-7) vs. Cleveland – The Raiders opened as a 7 point favorite against the Browns and the line has held steady. Cleveland is coming off their bye, which should help Peyton Hillis get over that nasty case of strep throat. Oakland has an easy schedule coming up and if they just take care of business, they should be 6-2 going into their bye week. But first things first – the Raiders need to prove they can put away average teams and this is a perfect opportunity.
