The Oakland Raiders have surprised the football world by staying competitive in the AFC West all the way into December. They stand two games behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the division with four left to play, including a road game in KC in Week 17. The Jacksonville Jaguars have also surprised some folks by sitting in first place in the AFC South through 13 weeks.
NFL Picks Week 14: Oakland Raiders Vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Both teams desperately need a win this weekend. The Raiders probably need to win out to have a shot at winning the division. The Jaguars on the other hand are trying to stay one game up on the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South. They play Indy next week so winning this game would give them a slight cushion.
The Raiders game plan will be pretty obvious -- run, run and run some more. They're the third ranked rush offense in the NFL and last week they put up 251 yards on the San Diego Chargers defense. Considering the quarterback situation, expect the Raiders to stick to the run.
The Jaguars have the league’s 24th ranked defense and 17th ranked rush defense so stopping the Raiders running game will clearly be a priority.
The Jaguars are 4.5 point home favorites according to NFL odds and I’m going to stick with them as the winner. I do think this game is closer -- more like a field goal -- but Jacksonville will slow down Oakland’s run game and win this one.
Check out Silver and Black Pride and Big Cat Country for more on the game.
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