Raiders Still Fighting for Playoff Berth in Week 17 Showdown With Broncos

The Oakland Raiders (7-8) kept their slim playoff hopes alive with an upset victory against a division rival last week and can do so again this Sunday when they visit the Denver Broncos (6-9) in the regular-season finale. The Raiders are coming off a 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers as 7.5-point road underdogs last Sunday to snap a four-game skid.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The early line movement has been in favor of Oakland, dropping the point spread a full point to -3.5 at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark, with the total also falling slightly to 41. This makes sense obviously since the Raiders need a win to have any shot at the postseason.

Oakland News & Notes

The final season for this franchise in Oakland was presumably over until a few crazy things happened in Week 16. First and foremost, the Raiders found a way to upset the Chargers behind an inspired performance from quarterback Derek Carr. Whether or not Carr will be the starting signal-caller in Las Vegas next year remains to be seen, but he found a way to put a disappointing home finale behind him and somehow helped keep his team’s playoff chances alive.

He completed 26 of 30 passes for 291 yards and one touchdown at Los Angeles and hooked up with rookie wide receiver Hunter Renfrow seven times for 107 yards, including the score. Now all Oakland needs to do to make the postseason is get another road victory at Denver plus see wins from the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts – piece of cake, right?!

Denver News & Notes

The Broncos have been a much more competitive team with rookie quarterback Drew Lock under center, giving them some real hope for the future. Thankfully for Denver’s Vic Fangio, Lock has won three of four starts and will likely buy him at least another year to prove himself as the team’s head coach.

Fangio has not been bad, but the play of the Broncos early in the season did leave a lot to be desired and made some question whether he was the right man for the job. An 0-4 start (straight up) has been seemingly erased by the fact that they have gone an impressive 8-3 against the spread in the last 11 games and 6-5 SU.

Betting Pick: Denver -3.5

It is too little, too late for the Raiders, who will likely look back at their recent losing streak and wonder what would have happened if they could have won just one of those games. Oakland head coach Jon Gruden has reportedly said he will not rush back key players like rookie running back Josh Jacobs (shoulder) in an effort to make the playoffs. So bet on the Broncos.