Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has thrown 70 touchdown passes in his first two and-a-half seasons
The Oakland Raiders went into their bye week off a big win over Denver and if they spent the past two weeks celebrating with tequila shots, that’s okay. They’re in Mexico City tonight to take on the Houston Texans.
WEEK 11 MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Odds: Raiders -6 and O/U 45
The Texans returned from their bye last week and scored their first road victory of the season against AFC South embarrassment, Jacksonville. Non-divisional road teams that followed their bye with a win are good over play, going 27-17-1 O/U, and the 10 dogs in this profile went 7-3 O/U.
Houston was 2-of-2 in the red zone during the 24-21 win but they also allowed the Jags to convert both chances. Jacksonville is an average team at best inside the 20 but these Raiders rank third overall at 69-percent and they are even better away from home (75-percent). Houston has struggled against these teams in the past, going 2-9 SU/ATS and losing by an average of more than 10 points per game.
Oakland was easing some of its players back into practice this week but RB Latavius Murray (ankle) and WR Amari Cooper (back) are both expected to see plenty of action tonight. The Houston pass defense has proven to be the strength of this unit and they’re holding teams to just 197 passing yards per game, but look at the list of quarterbacks they’ve faced away from home this year: Brissett, Bradford, Siemian, Bortles… Can anyone say, ‘sandbagging?’
Oakland’s offensive line ranks eighth in run blocking and first overall in pass protection. QB Derek Carr has been sacked just 11 times, is completing 66-percent of his passes and has an impressive 17:3 TD to INT ratio. He and O-Co Bill Musgrave ripped into the Chargers last season following the Raiders bye week and Murray, Cooper and Michael Crabtree were the top producers. It is fair to expect this offense will put up something near their 27 point per game average once again tonight.
The Raiders scored 30-plus points in three-straight before their bye and the past eight teams to do that went 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS off the break, scoring 31 PPG. The fact this is a neutral site game probably helps the Texans offense and if they can continue getting good production from a ground game that is averaging 146 yards the past four games, this game is headed over.