Raiders
vs.
Bucs
Week 8
NFL Pick
10/30/16
After last week’s dismantling of a terrible 49ers team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are taking on the Oakland Raiders. The Bucs are one Game out of first place and they are led by second year QB Jameis Winston who has thrown for 12 touchdowns and 1,596 yards through the air.
Winston’s talent and moxie is undeniable, but the second year pro has had issues in the past with forcing the ball into tight coverage. The Raiders defense saw Julio Jones of the Falcons catch the ball all over the field and the Bucs are hoping to replicate that with their young, talented wide receiver Mike Evans. Evans leads the team with 6 touchdowns and 545 yards receiving on 40 catches.
The Bucs are hoping that they can leave the bay area (not Oakland… Tampa) with another win under their belt which will make for an extremely interesting matchup in Week 9 against their division rival, the Atlanta Falcons.
The Raiders have one of the youngest and most talented rosters in the league point blank. They look to have finally found their fraNChise QB in Derek Carr who has thrown for 1,808 yards through the air this season.
The Raiders like to air it out and the Bucs shouldn’t have many answers this weekend against this explosive passing offense. The Raiders defense should have a lot of opportunities to cause turnovers this weekend as well. Look for linebackers Bruce Irvin and Kahlil MACk to put tremendous pressure on Winston and force the young QB into some costly mistakes.
Tampa Bay is playing good football. They’re running the ball well. This combined with playing at home result in the nerds favoring the Bucs by 1.5 points which translates into a predictive 52.5% chance to win the Game.
The Raiders are making the city of Oakland feel good about football again, but it can all come crashing down to earth very soon if the team decides to leave for Vegas. For the time being, look for the city to celebrate another win for the Raiders, which should put the rest of the league on notice and help put the pressure on the city to work a deal to keep the team in Oakland. The Raiders win on the road. Raiders +1.5