The Buffalo Bills head to play the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum this week. The game kicks off Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET and can be seen on CBS.
In last week’s game, Oakland got beat by Chiefs 31-13. Mychal Rivera had a quality performance in the loss, catching seven passes for 39 yards. James Jones contributed with 57 yards and a TD on eight receptions. Buffalo is looking to repeat last week when they defeated Green Bay 21-13.
Buffalo is a five-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 39 points. Sitting at 2-12 Straight Up (SU) and 7-7 Against The Spread (ATS), the Raiders will look to improve as they head into Week 16. In the past five games, Oakland is 2-3 SU and 3-2 ATS. Oakland has made opposing defenses pay as of late, averaging 94.8 rushing yards per game over the last five weeks, well over its season average of 73.4. As for the Oakland defense, a few key matchups could decide this game. The Oakland defense will be looking to dominate the ground game when it matches up against the Bills, who only average 3.8 yards per rushing attempt.
Across the field, the Bills have a record of 8-6 both ATS and SU. Over their last five games, the Bills have a SU record of 3-2 and a 4-1 record ATS for those betting with them. Preparing for Buffalo’s top-five scoring defense will give the Raiders headaches in the film room. So far this year, the Bills defense has only allowed opponents to score an average of 18.1 points. Buffalo is a horrifying bunch to opposing offenses. The Bills give up just 209.4 yards per game through the air, fifth in the league. The Raiders need to hold onto the ball if they want a shot against the turnover-minded Bills. The Buffalo defense generates 2.1 turnovers per game, second in the league. The Bills can take advantage of Oakland’s bad habit of starting the second half cold. They allow an average of 6.9 points during the third quarter, ranking 29th in the NFL.
Predictions: SU Winner – BUF, ATS Winner – BUF, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo’s last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oakland’s last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo’s last 6 games on the road.
Oakland is 2-18 SU in its last 20 games.
Buffalo is 5-13 SU in its last 18 games on the road.
Oakland is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo’s last 5 games when playing Oakland.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oakland’s last 7 games at home.
Buffalo is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Oakland.
Oakland is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games at home.
Buffalo is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Oakland.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oakland’s last 5 games when playing Buffalo.
Buffalo is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Oakland.
Oakland is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Buffalo.
Oakland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Buffalo.
Buffalo is 4-3 SU when leading at the half this season. Oakland is 1-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Buffalo is 5-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Oakland is 2-0 SU when leading after three quarters.
Buffalo is 7-2 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle this season, and only 1-2 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
Oakland is 1-2 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and 1-9 SU when losing the turnover battle.
Oakland is an even 3-3 SU this season when allowing at least 3 sacks in a game. The Buffalo defense is currently averaging 3.4 sacks over the last five games.
The Oakland passing attack is ranked only 24th in the league, while the Buffalo pass defense is ranked fifth. The Bills’ passing game is ranked just 19th, compared to the eighth-ranked pass defense of the Raiders.
According to season yardage rankings, Buffalo is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 23rd-ranked rushing attack will face the 25th-ranked run defense of Oakland, while its 10th-ranked rush defense will look to contain the 32nd-ranked run game of the Raiders.
Oakland has given up 28.1 points per game at home this year, which is ranked only 31st in the league. Buffalo has scored 21.0 points per contest on the road (ranked 17th overall).
