The New England Patriots open the 2014 slate at Gillette Stadium against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, and do so as 15-point favorites, per OddsShark. The over/under is 47.
Raiders vs. Patriots picks and predictions 2014: Experts rolling with New England
In perhaps the most lopsided contest of the week, the Patriots take on the Raiders, and experts don’t feel good about Oakland’s chances
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
It is hard to find anybody picking the Raiders to win the game. In fact, nobody at ESPN is going with the silver and black, with all 13 men siding with Tom Brady and co. Not surprisingly, the Patriots are also unanimously picked to beat Oakland by the five experts at NFL.com and the eight picking for CBS Sports. John Breech and Will Brinson are picking the Raiders to cover the large spread at CBS, at least giving Oakland that much respect.
New England enters the day 1-1 after hammering the Minnesota Vikings, 30-7. The Patriots stepped up in all phases, scoring on a blocked field goal and picking off Matt Cassel three times. Oakland was not nearly as productive in its second game of the year, falling to 0-2 with a 30-14 drubbing by the Houston Texans. Houston carved up the Raiders on the ground, rushing for 188 yards, with Arian Foster accounting for 138 of it.
Despite the loss, Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride was happy with rookie linebacker Khalil Mack:
With as often as the defense was on the field in this game, there was plenty of time for the cream to rise to the top. And while his fellow linebackers were getting pushed around on the block, Mack was not. The result was two safeties leading the team in tackles, followed by Mack with six solo tackles. He had a run stuff tackle for one yard on the Texans' second drive that set up a third and six. They, of course converted.
On the following drive, with the Texans in third and goal at the 15-yard-line, he tipped the ball at the line to force a field goal. The next drive, he burst into the backfield, causing his man to be penalized for holding.
Over at Pats Pulpit, Richard Hill points out some interesting betting trends when the Patriots are large favorites:
But just because the Patriots are expected to play hard and people are betting around the 15.5 point mark, it doesn't mean they'll win by 15.5. However, history points out that the Patriots have never lost a game where they've been favored by 14 or more.
Even more interesting, is when the Patriots have been favored. Nine of the sixteen games happened in 2007. Seven of the games came week 12 or later- and they have not covered any of those games.
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