Ala Hann Sport picks

No, it’s not Pacquiao Cotto odds, but the Chiefs and Raiders are division rivals. Neither will be competing for an AFC West title this season, but pride is on the line when they meet Sunday.

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders

Sunday, November 15 at 4:05 p.m. ET

NFL odds: Raiders -1.5

The Raiders (2-6), coming off the bye, have lost two straight since their surprising upset win over the Eagles. They hung in surprisingly well with the Chargers last week, eventually succumbing 24-16. Any game won by Oakland—or remains close, for that matter—is a credit to the defense. The Silver and Black allowed just 19 total points in their two victories this season. The “D” isn’t going to wow you but, on any given Sunday… you know the rest.

Unless you’re talking about Oakland’s offense, that is. Sunday, Monday, it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is—this team can’t score. It’s been beyond pathetic. The Raiders’ highest output this season is 20 points; they’ve been held below double digits  in half their games; and have failed to score a touchdown three times. JaMarcus Russell (48.3 passer rating) makes an easy target, but just about everyone here is lousy.

Kansas City’s offense is, statistically speaking, leaps and bounds better than Oakland’s. That’s not exactly impressive, though, as the Chiefs are managing just 15.8 points per game. Former New England quarterback Matt Cassel—whom the team awarded a big contract in the offseason—is quickly sliding from “unproven” to “unskilled.” The Patriot Way, it seems, is not translating in K.C.

The Chiefs are ranked 30th in pass defense, largely because of a lame pass rush that’s managed a paltry 10 sacks this year. At least Russell isn’t a major threat to burn them. The run defense isn’t exactly pulling its weight either at 136 yards per game. Frankly, there’s not much on this side of the ball to get offshore sportsbook bettors excited.

Oakland emerged victorious in the Week 2 matchup between these squads. The score was 13-10, mostly of product of offensive ineptitude vs. defensive proficiency. It should be more of the same this time around but Kansas City has the edge offensively. Running back Larry Johnson was cut this week but, if he were contributing anything positive, he wouldn’t have been cut. Bet on the Chiefs to score a sloppy, low-scoring victory over the Raiders on your NFL predictions.

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