Two last start losers go head-to-head on Monday Night Football, as the Packers head to Sin City to take on the Raiders. The Raiders have lost three in a row since their late victory over the Broncos in week 1, having suffered losses to the Bills, Steelers, and Chargers in the last 3 weeks. With a tough matchup next week against the Patriots, a home win here is crucial for the Raiders’ chances of staying in playoff contention.
Below, we will dissect the matchup, previewing how we think things will play out, and give out our Best Bet. Make sure you are following BeforeYouBet, as we will have dedicated Match Previews for all Prime-Time NFL games this season, as well as a preview of the main slate on Monday’s. All for free!
NFL Week 5 Preview & Betting Tips
Green Bay Packers at Las Vegas Raiders
Allegiant Stadium, Tuesday 10th October, 11:15am (AEDT)
Last Week
The Raiders took on the Chargers last week in their first divisional matchup of the season. Despite trailing 24-7 at halftime, the Raiders made a game of it at the end, despite it being rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell’s first career start. The Raiders were horrific on 3rd down, completing at just 9%, whilst also losing the turnover battle 3-1. They would have been happy with the production from Josh Jacobs, who has been poor to start the season, as he went for 58 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground, whilst also accumulating 8 receptions for 81 yards.
As for the Packers, they were never in their matchup with the Lions last Thursday night, going down 34-20 at Lambeau Field. The Lions led 27-3 at halftime, and dominated defensively throughout the game, allowing only 230 total yards to the Packers. Quarterback Jordan Love threw two interceptions, whilst the Packers struggled to get anything going on the ground at all, with the team rushing for 27 yards total on 12 carries. They should have better production this week, with the Raiders conceding the 7th most rushing yards per game in the NFL.
Injury Report
Las Vegas Raiders
Austin Walter / Brittan Brown (RB) – OUT
Curtis Bolton / Darien Butler (LB) – OUT
Dalton Wagner (OT) – OUT
David Long / Nate Hobbs / Brandon Facyson / Jakorian Bennett (DB) – Questionable
Maxx Crosby / Malcolm Koonce (DE) – Questionable
Davante Adams (WR) – Questionable
Jimmy Garoppolo (QB) – Questionable
Green Bay Packers
David Bakhtiari / Luke Tenuta (OT) – OUT
Tyler Davis (TE) – OUT
Christian Watson (WR) – Questionable
Aaron Jones (RB) – Questionable
Zach Tom / Elgton Jenkins (OL) – Questionable
Luke Musgrave (TE) – Questionable
Rudy Ford / Jaire Alexander (DB) – Questionable
De’Vondre Campbell (LB) – Questionable
Match Preview
Whilst the Raiders have been about as miserable as could have been expected with this coaching staff, the Packers have been a real enigma to start the season. After spanking the Bears in week 1, they were then involved in two straight 1-point games (1/1), before being blown out at home by the Lions. After 4 weeks, both teams appear to be on the outside looking in when it comes to playoff football, with more consistency required for the Packers to pull themselves up onto the playoff mixture in the NFC.
The lookahead for this matchup was Packers -1, and with both teams losing last week the number re-opened the same. I make the number Raiders -1, however there really isn’t a great deal of difference between these two teams. The favourite has flipped around during the week, and at the time of writing the Raiders are currently 1-point favourites. This game is essentially a pick em’, and I can’t split the teams. There are far too many unknowns, particularly surrounding injuries to key players on both teams, to get involved here.
The total was 43.5 on the look ahead, and that number has been bet across the key number of 44 to 44.5. I am intrigued by the under in this matchup, with the Packers offense being overrated in the market for mine. Despite scoring the 11th most points in the NFL, they are currently ranked only 27th in total offensive yards. To me, this shows their efficiency is too high, and some negative regression has to come into effect. As for the Raiders, their offense has been poor all season, and with Jimmy Garoppolo likely to return, a slow, run heavy game plan is likely to follow. The Raiders haven’t reached 20 points all season, and with them needing to get to around 23 points to cover this over, I like the under here in this one.
Under 44.5 total points
$1.96 (2 Units)
