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| Denver Broncos | Oakland Raiders |
| 12-3 | December 29, 2013, 04:25 | O.co Coliseum | 4-11 |
After setting the record for most touchdown passes in a season Peyton Manning has one thing yet to do this regular season; help his Denver Broncos secure the top seed in the upcoming AFC playoffs.
Manning and the Broncos can do just that if they can beat the Raiders in Oakland Sunday afternoon.
At 12-3 Denver leads the AFC by one game over New England; but the Patriots own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Broncos. So Denver can't afford a slip-up Sunday, especially with New England hosting Buffalo.
As of early this week the Broncos, who have beaten the Raiders three times by an average of 20 points since Manning arrived, were favored by 12 points for Sunday's game at Sportsbook.
The Broncos will look to vanquish their hosts on Sunday, as they are 9-6 ATS versus the spread this season, while the Raiders are 8-7 ATS. Denver is 11-4 against the total, while Oakland is 7-7-1 versus the number.
View Denver Broncos vs Oakland Raiders Odds and Stats.
The point spread was settled in at 11.5 favoring the host Raiders earlier in the week, according to Sportsbook. The over under line was hovering around 53.5, with movement expected during the week at Sportsbook.
The game pits the Raiders, currently No. 31 in our OddsShark NFL Power Rankings, against the Broncos, who rate No. 3 in the latest survey. Meanwhile, math and handicapping models run on this game predict a 37-19 victory for the Broncos.
Denver won its last outing, a 37-13 result against the Texans on December 22. The Broncos covered in that game as a 9.5-point favorite, while the 50 combined points took the game UNDER the total. Last time out, Peyton Manning threw for 4 scores and 400 yards in leading his team past Houston at Reliant Stadium. In their last game, the Raiders were Week 16 losers coming out on the wrong end of 26-13 score against San Diego.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Oakland's No. 25-ranked offense (20.53 PPG) against a Broncos defense that ranks No. 22 at 25.67 PPG. The Raiders passing attack has averaged 209.93 yards per game, less than the Broncos give up through the air (258.6 YPG on average).
Defensively, the Broncos feature the league's No. 6-rated road run defense, allowing 98.43 yards per game. Oakland, meanwhile, ranks No. 3 in rushing offense at home.
A few Broncos at Raiders trends to consider:
Denver is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
Denver is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Denver's last 16 games
Denver is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games on the road
Oakland is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Oakland is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Oakland's last 8 games
Oakland is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games at home
Next up:
Denver home to , Wednesday, December 31st
Oakland home to , Wednesday, December 31st
