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A pivotal matchup between some familiar faces will meet out on the gridiron as the New England Patriots clash with the Las Vegas Raiders. It is time to check out our NFL odds series where our Patriots-Raiders prediction and pick will be made.
Entering play fresh off of the two worst losses during the Bill Belichick tenure in New England, things surely cannot get any worse than they have been for the Patriots. Coming in with a record of 1-4 after getting shutout in embarrassing fashion to the New Orleans Saints 34-0. In what is pretty much a must-win scenario for New England, can they show any signs of life versus Las Vegas?
For the time being, the Raiders are feeling fairly good about themselves after a gritty Monday night win against the Green Bay Packers by a score of 17-13. With the victory, Las Vegas improved to 2-3 and successfully snapped a three-game losing streak. Now officially in his second season a head coach, former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can go 3-0 against his former employer all-time with a win on Sunday.
Here are the Patriots-Raiders NFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NFL Odds: Patriots-Raiders Odds
New England Patriots: +2.5 (-102)
Las Vegas Raiders: -2.5 (-120)
Over: 41.5 (-105)
Under: 41.5 (115)
How to Watch Patriots vs. Raiders Week 6
Time: 4:25 ET/1:25 PT
TV: CBS
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial), NFL Sunday Ticket if out-of-market
Why The Patriots Could Cover The Spread
There's no sugarcoating it. New England's play of late has been just about as horrendous as one could possibly imagine. Simply put, the beatdowns that the Pats have had to take on the chin the past couple weeks is even more shocking considering that Bill Belichick has never quite endured such humiliation in his 20+ years since accepting the head coaching gig in New England. On paper, it appears that this Patriots team lacks the necessary talent on both sides of the ball to consistently compete, and their margin of error will be little to none if they want to finally get back into the win column and end the horror.
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Simply, there is no excuses for QB Mac Jones anymore. After the Patriots selected Jones with the 15th overall pick in the NFL Draft, expectations were quite high for the former Alabama standout to fill in Tom Brady's ginormous shoes as New England's next franchise cornerstone, but doubt is finally starting to creep in about whether or not Jones can be the right guy for the job. To make matters worse, he has not thrown a passing touchdown since Sep. 24th and has been benched in back-to-back games as well. With his starting spot hanging by a thread and the Patriots on the brink of seeing their season lost halfway through October, New England is desperate for a good performance by their field general.
All in all, be on the lookout for this Patriots offensive line to somehow find a way to slow down edge rusher Maxx Crosby. While the Patriots' defense should hold their own against an average Raiders offense, protecting Jones so he can make the right decisions will be the difference maker.
Why The Raiders Could Cover The Spread
Currently in the midst of a brand new era of Raiders football after departing with QB Derek Carr in the offseason, the Raiders don't seem like they're anything special this fall but they at least have a plethora of skilled position players that can change the tide of a game in a hurry.
Indeed, this is quite the stale team on paper, as the Raiders enter this weekend ranked 29th in scoring offense and 21st in scoring defense. If anything, the Raiders do have a vastly experienced quarterback under center in Jimmy Garappolo who is partaking in his first-ever season in the silver and black. Despite already missing some time due to injury which has been a knock on his game the past couple off seasons in San Francisco, there is no denying that Jimmy G is a winner. By making some big-time throws in crunch time, especially to superstar wideout Devante Adams, then the Patriots may not be able to stop the bleeding.
Of course, the tastiest recipe for success will prove to be keeping the ball on the ground with last year's league-leading rusher Josh Jacobs. Somewhat off to a slow start in 2023 with only 235 yards on a 2.9 YPC clip, a breakout outing in the running game from Jacobs could end up catapulting his effectiveness for the rest of the season.
Most importantly, the Raiders have had extreme difficulties in creating takeaways and coming away with game-changing turnovers. As it stands, Las Vegas has only forced four turnovers in five games and will need to come up with at least a couple against a Pats squad that has had trouble with their ball security of late.
Final Patriots-Raiders Prediction & Pick
With plenty of classic battles over the years, both sides will be more than desperate to get into the win column this Sunday. Alas, this matchup may come down to which side is better coached, and even though the last two weeks have been nightmarish to say the least, putting your chips on Coach Belichick to put his troops in the right position to make plays seems like the move.
Final Patriots-Raiders Prediction & Pick: Patriots +2.5 (-102)
