All right, who’s ready to get back on the horse after the Bad Beat of the Year on Monday Night Football – okay, so kneeling down and eschewing the extra point is one thing, but this car-wreck of a desperation play that ended in a safety…?
But of course the proper NFL bettor is ready. After all, the Baltimore Ravens-Cleveland Browns calamity was merely the last game on what was (for NFLbets at least) a pretty prosperous week 14. On the other hand, the week 15 Thursday Night Football matchup features two teams in dueling graveyard spirals who have repeatedly flummoxed bettors all 2020, namely…
Excitement about a pair of high point-scoring offenses led by rookie sensation Justin Herbert and peak Derek Carr aside, most observers are likely to look to the coaching for an edge. To this end, one might be willing to throw all the moneys at the Raiders in this one.
Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn has certainly made betting interesting in 2020 with his incredible decision(?)-making in the clutch. Lynn’s play-calling may be in no small part blamed for four losses (at Denver, vs Las Vegas, at Miami and at Buffalo) and clearly wasn't ready for a primetimer like Bill Belichick even when the EEEEevil one is armed with a popgun of a team.
On the other sideline is the highly regarded Jon Gruden, though how much longer the man’s reputation can carry him – not to mention Raiders game pointspreads. Seriously, the man hasn’t brought a team to the playoffs since 2007. This team’s recent 1-3 SU/ATS run (in which the one SU win came thanks to well-known blitz addict Gregg Williams handed Carr an unrefusable opportunity to beat the Jets) is the end-result of Gruden’s absolute control. He has rebuilt the name in his image of a Rich Gannon-style offense; from the trading of Khalil Mack, Chucky has made it clear that his chief priorities were the quarterback and the passing game.
It’s a miracle that the Raiders landed Josh Jacobs in the draft, really, though his decreasing usage rate (just over 17 touches per game in the past five) and yards per carry (3.8 against last season’s 4.3) may be indicative of this particular blind spot of Gruden’s…
On top of the mess cooking in Vegas, would-be Vegas backers will have to figure in how the firing of defensive coordinator Paul Guenther affects a bottom-5 unit, if at all. The new man in the seat is Rod Marinelli, who by all accounts is a coach that players love and who produced decent, if not brilliant, results as a DC with the Dallas Cowboys from 2014-19.
Conclusion: Too many nuts and bolts to make a firm conclusion on the winner; NFLbets says instead take the under on an O/U of 53 points. Whether or not Marinelli is even a temporary answer for the Raiders, Vegas is well due some unders before this season ends: The over is 9-3-1 in their games this season. Unders in Chargers games may have hit three in a row, but that streak is chasing a run of seven consecutive overs – and the alternative L.A. team has topped 21 points scored just once in its past five. So figure on a low score and pray against the current of 2020 that weirdness does not descend…
–written by Os Davis
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