NFL Football: New England Patriots VS Las Vegas Raiders Prediction, Odds and Preview - 12/18/2022

 

Game Time: 4:00 PM ET,  Sunday, December 18th, 2022

Venue:  Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada

Where to Watch: FOX

FanDuel:  Raiders -1, O/U 44.5

BetMGM:  Patriots -1, O/U 44.5

PointsBet:  Patriots -1, O/U 44.5

Patriots: 7-6, 3rd place AFC East

Raiders: 5-8, 3rd place AFC West

An NFL AFC battle between underperforming clubs who are still trying to keep their insane hopes alive.  The betting lies for this game are putting it at a coinflip with 3 sportsbooks favoring the Raiders by -1 and 7 Sportsbooks favoring the Patriots by -1.  It isn;t a coin flip, though is it?  The Great Betting Opportunity here is actually about who you think will win.  The winner should be revealed in the numbers.  The New England Patriots have the best coach in the history of the NFL.. people will tell you he benefited from QB Tom Brady… but if you look closely at the numbers… It turns out Tom benefited from Bill Belichick the first 14 seasons while Bill benefitted from Tom the last 4 seasons they were together.  Today Bill Belichick has Mac Jones at quarterback… and he has that guy playing above his abilities as well… AND he has that guy running an offense where the plays are called by a defensive coordinator… and Bill is still the best coach in football.  The Las Vegas Raiders have been a slow moving operatic tragedy over the last few years.  They have lost a coach from public shame… they have lost a first round pick from social media posts where he made gun threats… they have lost another first round pick from a DUI murder charge. In fact they have wasted everything they got from the Khalil Mack trade  several seasons ago.  And they now stand as a collection of broken players coached by broken people, owned by a broken owner with a bad haircut. Still they have a good quarterback, a great receiver… and a chance whenever they play.  The Great Betting Opportunity will be found in who actually has anything to play for?  Let's look at the numbers and the spread and make that bet.

The New England Patriots won their last game over the Arizona Cardinals 27-13.  They are in a very odd place where a winning streak could possibly get them into the postseason… whereas a losing streak could cause fundamental foundational changes that ignites a “rebuild”.  In the win QB Mac Jones completed 24 f 35 passes fro 235 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT.  They found their scoring in 2 rushing TDs by Pierre Strong JR ( I never heard of him either) and Kevin Harris ( I never heard of him either)... lots of kicking… and by stopping the Cardinals with a stout defense. Patriots special teams guy Marcus Jones had a busy day returning punts and kickoffs to big results. Belichick teams have always had good special teams play… because he is a good coach.

The Las Vegas Raiders lost their last game to the Los Angeles Rams.. That is right.. They lost to a Rams team that was missing DT Aaron Donald, QB Matthew Stafford, and WR Cooper Kupp!  Literally all the players the Rams blew up their team in order to extend to larger contracts.  The Rams were missing everything they had and beat the Raiders 17-16. In that loss QB Derek Carr completed 11 of 20 passes for 137 yards 0 TDs and 2 INTs.  RB Josh Jacobs went for 99 yards on 27 carries with 1 TD.  The Raiders were awful.

Brian Bitler is 17-8  in the last 30 days across all NFL picks for a profit of $8,100 with  BIG Winners everywhere! Get Brian Bitler’s picks!!....  Follow a handicapper soon!  They are available right now at the Shop Picks Page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.  And stay with BigAl.com for all your favorite sports… MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAAF, NCAAB.  Remember winning a wager is more fun than making the wager… more profitable too!!

NE: 7-6, 7-5-1 ATS, 5-8 O/U, 4-3 in road games. 

LV: 5-8, 6-7 ATS, 6-7 O/U, 3-2 in home games.

The Patriots are 18th in scoring with 21.2 points per games, 24th in total yards with 319.6 per game, 21st in passing yards with 214.8 per game, 23rd in rushing yards with 104.8 per game.

The Raiders are 11th in scoring with 23.7 points per game, 8th in total yards with 361.9 per game, 12th in passing yards with 233.5 per game, and 10th in rushing yards with 128.5 per game.

The Patriots defense is 6th in defense of total yards with 312.6 per game, 9th in defense of passing yards with 201.3 per game allowed, 12th in rushing yards with 111.3 per game allowed, and 5th in points scored with 18.4 allowed per game.

The Raiders are 24th in defense of total yards with 365 allowed per game, 29th in defense of passing yards with 254.5 allowed per game, 10th in rushing yards with 110.5 allowed per game, and 25th in points scored with 24.1 per game allowed.

Our prediction for Sunday, December 18th is…. Patriots 21 - Raiders 17

 

Bet on the Patriots.. They have a much better defense.  While both teams will struggle on offense the Patriots offense will have the better field position and chances. Bet on the Patriots, I told you twice.

 

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NFL Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com.  Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to join for a week or a month.  And if you enjoyed this Patriots/Raiders preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.

The Patriots are 3-1 ATS versus the Raiders at Raiders since 1992.

The Patriots are 5-1 ATS as a favorite this season (this favorite status is near split).

The Raiders are 1-5 ATS after consecutive UNDERS this season.

Patriots: QB Mac Jones, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, WR DeVonte Parker, WR Tyquan Thornton, WR Nelson Agholor, TE Jonnu Smith, LT Trent Brown, LG Cole Strange, C David Andrews, RG Mike Onwenu, RT Conor McDermott

Raiders: QB Derek Carr, RB Josh Jacobs, FB Jakob Johnson, WR Mack Hollins, WR DaVante Adams, TE Foster Moreau, LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Pharham, C Andre James, RG Alex Bars, RT Jermaine Eluemunor

Partly Cloudy, Humidity 25%, wind 4 mph,. 53*