NFL Week 3: Is Washington a Safe Pick in the Betting Lines vs. Oakland?

Americans love scoring. It’s why soccer and hockey struggle to draw a ton of interest. Well, the highest betting total by far for NFL Week 3 Sunday night’s game between the Raiders and Redskins, Oakland’s first trip to Washington since 2005. The NFL odds for Raiders vs. Redskins favor Oakland by -3. Will that be enough to get the victory?

Oakland at Washington NFL Week 3 Odds, Game Preview & Expert Prediction

XVIII MVP. #TBT #OAKvsWAS pic.twitter.com/cjMGKoT4dD

— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) September 22, 2017

When: Sunday, 8:30 PM ET Where: FedEx Field, Landover TV:  NBC Radio: 95.7 FM The GAME (Oakland) / ESPN 980AM (Washington) Stream Option: NFL Live Opening NFL Week 3 Lines: Raiders -3 (54)

Weather Forecast

• Clear: 22^°C/72^°F
• Humidity: 75%
• Precipitation: 2%
• Wind: 1 mph NNW
• Cloud Cover: 1%
• Type of Stadium: Open

Series History

Raiders lead 7-5 in regular season. The Redskins will attempt to earn their first home win against the Raiders since defeating the then-Los Angeles Raiders, 10-6, on Sept. 14, 1986. The teams last played in 2013 and last in Washington in 2005.

• Total Meetings: 13
• First Meeting: October 19th, 1970. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Oakland, California
• Last Meeting: September 29th, 2013. O.co Coliseum. Oakland, California
• All-Time Series: Oakland 8-5-0
• Largest Margin of Victory: January 22nd, 1984
• Longest Win Streak: Oakland 3 (1970-1980)
• Current Win Streak: Washington 2 (2009-2013)

NFL Week 3 Lines & Betting Analysis on Falcons at Lions

Why Bet on Raiders?

They are unbeaten and the NFL’s highest-scoring team. Last Sunday, the Raiders beat the Jets in the their home opener, 45-20. WR Michael Crabtree led the way for the Raiders, hauling in three touchdown passes from QB Derek Carr. It marked the second time in his career that Crabtree, who led all receivers with six receptions for 80 yards, had caught three touchdowns in a game.  Crabtree has now recorded 20 touchdowns since he joined the Raiders in 2015, which is tied for fourth most in the NFL over that span. Carr finished with a 136.6 quarterback rating (the third highest of his career), throwing for 230 yards on 23-of-28 passing (82.1 percent). The rushing attack racked up 180 yards on the ground, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. RB Jalen Richard and WR Cordarrelle Patterson each scored on long runs, 52 and 43 yards, respectively, and RB Marshawn Lynch, playing in his first regular season game with the Raiders in his hometown, added his first touchdown of the season. Thus far, Carr’s average pass has traveled an NFL-low 4.8 yards past the line of scrimmage and he has yet to throw a pass 20 or more yards downfield. But the short passing game is working. Carr is completing 75 percent of his passes and has five touchdowns and no interceptions in a quick-passing offense. He is averaging 1.91 seconds from snap to release in first-year offensive coordinator Todd Downing’s system. Oakland’s perceived weakness entering this season was the secondary. But that hasn’t manifested itself yet. The Raiders have three of the top 17 graded cornerbacks in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. Among the projected issues was an aging, larger cornerback who even got demoted at times in training camp in Sean Smith; a rookie cornerback Gareon Conley who missed all of training camp and preseason due to injury; and another rookie safety who will be on the shelf for the first eight weeks of the regular season in Obi Melifonwu. But Conley has an overall grade of 83.6 (No. 13 in NFL), Smith has the third-best PFF grade in the NFL through Week 2 at 86.4. T.J. Carrie rounds out the Raiders cornerbacks in the top 17, checking in with a healthy grade of 82.8.

Why Bet on Washington?

The Skins lost Week 1 at home to Philadelphia but win last week at the Rams 27-20. Chris Thompson, Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine combined for 229 rushing yards. It helped balanced out an offensive attack on a day when Kirk Cousins threw for just 179 yards. Kelley is iffy for this week with a rib injury. Cousins has thrown for 419 yards on 41-of-67 passing with two touchdowns and one interception through two games. WR Terrelle Pryor Sr. and TE Jordan Reed have been Cousins’ top targets so far this season, leading the team in yards (97) and receptions (11), respectively. Thompson has recorded 81 rushing yards on six carries (13.5 avg.), while adding 81 receiving yards on seven receptions. The Redskins’ defense is led by LB Zach Brown, who ranks third in the league with 22 tackles entering Week 3. Third-year LB Preston Smith holds a team-high two sacks, while LB Ryan Kerrigan is close behind with 1.5. Kerrigan has also recorded one of Washington’s two interceptions this season, returning it 24 yards for a touchdown. Washington beat the Packers on Sunday Night Football last year and is seeking consecutive wins on Sunday Night Football for the first time since Weeks 15-16 of the 2007 season. The Skins are 17-17-1 on SNF since the team’s first appearance on the broadcast package in 1987. Could the team rush for at least 200 yards again? That hasn’t happened in consecutive games since Weeks 6-7 of the 2013 season. Cousins will start his 35th consecutive regular season game for the Redskins, already the third-longest streak by a Redskins quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger behind Joe Theismann (60 from 1980-84) and Mark Rypien (41 from 1990-93). He is one TD pass joining Sammy Baugh, Sonny Jurgensen, Theismann, Billy Kilmer and Rypien as the only quarterbacks to record 75 career touchdown passes as a member of the Redskins.

Betting Trends for NFL Week 3

• Oakland is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games
• Oakland is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
• The total has gone OVER in 9 of Oakland’s last 13 games
• Washington is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games
• Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Oakland
• The total has gone OVER in 17 of Washington’s last 23 games

Expert NFL Week 3 Pick

I hate lines that land right on 3 points. Oakland looks good, no doubt, but throw out that Jets game. Buy the line up to 3.5 and take Washington here. Go over that big total as both teams are likely to score at least 27 points.