New York fell 20-10 to Washington on Thanksgiving. Oakland topped Denver 21-14 last Sunday.
The Giants have been struggling mightily on offense and the points have been hard to come by in 2017. They have averaged 13.4 ppg over the past 4 weeks as both the running game and passing game haven’t been able to get going. They average 91 ypg on the ground but have had to abandon the run to try and come back in several games. The Raiders allow 109 ypg on the ground but have been better at defending the run since the addition of NaVorro Bowman (who also picked off their first pass of the year against the Broncos). QB Eli Manning has endured a tough season but hasn’t been as bad as people think. His main problem is a leaky o-line (26 sacks) and the loss of his starting wideouts. Oakland’s pass rush hasn’t been great in 2017 but they did notch 5 sacks against the Broncos and should be able to build on that this week. The Raiders pass defense was a mess earlier in the year but they have settled down in recent weeks.
The Raiders offense hasn’t been the explosive unit they were in 2016 (21 points or less in 7 of last 9 games). QB Derek Carr has a decent 16-8 TD/INT ratio but something has been missing. WR Michael Crabtree will miss this game due to suspension and WR Amari Cooper (check status) left the Denver game with a concussion. WRs Seth Roberts, Cordarrelle Patterson and Johnny Holton are the only other wideouts on the team (as of this writing) and they’ll be hard pressed to duplicate the production of the starters. TE Jared Cook should be the No. 1 target this week. NY tallied 6 sacks last week, nearly half of their season total before the game. The Raiders have given up only 15 sacks on the year but that is already more than they gave up last year. RB Marshawn Lynch and the running game produced 104 yards on the ground last week but needed 37 carries to do it (2.8 ypc). The Giants do not defend the run well while Oakland averages only 90 ypg rushing the football.
Public Money Consensus
In this Week 13 NFL matchup between New York and Oakland have the public leaning to the Raiders to cover the 8.5 point spread with over 65%. The over/under bettors believe this game will stay under the posted total line of 42.5 with over 60% on board.
