The Oakland Raiders will look to take care of business at home when they host the Denver Broncos in their intriguing regular season opening AFC west divisional showdown on Monday night, live from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. With both teams looking to record winning records in 2019 after largely struggling a year ago, let’s find out which team is offering the best value against their NFL odds in this one!
Broncos vs Raiders 2019 NFL Week 1 Lines, Game Info & Pick
- When: Monday September 9, 2019, 10:20 PM ET
- Where: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: Denver / Oakland
- Live Stream: NFL Game Pass
- NFL Week 1 Odds: Denver -2.5 / Total: 43
Weather Forecast
- Sunny: 24°C/76°F
- Humidity: 63%
- Precipitation: 10%
- Wind: 19 mph W
- Cloud Cover: 7%
- Type of Stadium: Open
Key Head-to-Head Trends
- Under is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
- Home team is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings.
- Favorite is 10-3-1 ATS in their last 14 meetings.
- Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Oakland.
Why Bet On Denver at -2.5?
The best reason to back the Broncos is because they have what looks like a powerful defense just waiting to take the field in 2019, plus they have a more cohesive front office in this divisional rivalry. Sure, the Broncos went an uninspiring 6-10 a year ago to miss the postseason, but Denver hired longtime defensive guru Vic Fangio to lead them in a new direction, even if I don’t think their addition of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco was the best acquisition they could have made to address the inept play we’ve seen under center the last few seasons. I know the Broncos went a mediocre 1-3 in the preseason while getting held to 14 points or less three times and never scoring more than 20 points, but these two teams split their two regular season meetings a year ago to make it four straight years these longtime rivals have gone 1-1 against the other in the regular season.
Why Bet On Oakland at +2.5?
The Raiders are now a 2.5-point home underdog thanks mostly because of the announcement that perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Antonio Brown has been suspended because of some insane bad-mouthing of GM Mike Mayock this week. Besides that, the Raiders are looking to bounce back from the depths of a dismal 4-12 campaign in 2018 in their first year under head coach Jon Gruden. The good news is that Oakland went an encouraging 3-1 in the preseason, although they didn’t face any real competition in Weeks 1 and 3 against the Rams and Seahawks respectively. The Raiders finished the 2018 season ranked an awful 28th in scoring (18.1 ppg) and pitiful 32nd in points allowed last season (29.2 ppg).
Broncos vs Raiders NFL Week 1 Betting Trends
- Broncos are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 games
- Broncos are 1-4 SU in the last 5 games
- The total went UNDER in 9 of the Broncos’ last 9 games
- Raiders are 4-8 ATS in the last 12 games
- Raiders are 4-16 SU in the last 20 games
- The total went UNDER in 13 of the Raiders’ last 20 games
Expert Analysis and Prediction for Broncos vs Raiders
I know the Raiders are playing at home and facing a division rival they desperately want to beat, but for me, Oakland just has too much drama surrounding their team, thanks mostly to the jaw-dropping antics of Antonio Brown. Now, with Derek Carr forced to throw to the likes of Tyrell Williams, J.J. Nelson and Ryan Grant, I’m thinking Denver is going to put eight in the box to force Carr to beat them through the air.
With that said, I just don’t see it happening in Week 1, even at home. I’m expecting the Broncos to play some outstanding defense in this one while getting some quality rushing from Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman and just enough passing from Joe Flacco to make the road win stand up.
I know the home team in this rivalry has gone a near-perfect 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings, but the favorite is 10-3-1 ATS in their last 14 meetings and Denver has gone 2-0-2 ATS in their last 4 games in Week 1. I’m going with the Broncos for the road win and ATS cover in this one and you should too!
Pick: Denver 23 Oakland 17
