Packers vs. Raiders Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 3 Odds, Prediction
By far the biggest spread on any Week 3 NFL pre-season game is host Oakland giving a touchdown at Sports Interaction for Friday’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Some prognosticators predicted a Packers-Raiders Super Bowl for last season. After all, Green Bay entered the 2017 campaign with the longest active playoff streak in the NFC, and the Raiders were coming off a 12-4 year in ’16, their first trip to the playoffs since 2002.
Alas, things didn’t go as planned for either side as Oakland slipped to 6-10 and fired Coach Jack Del Rio. Green Bay slumped to 7-9 to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008. That was largely because star quarterback Aaron Rodgers missed a large chunk of last year with a broken collarbone. He’s healthy now, and it would be an upset it the Pack aren’t in the post-season again.
Oakland’s new head coach is of course Jon Gruden. He was an offensive assistant and wide receivers coach with the Packers way back in 1992-94. He was hired at the young age of 28 by then-Packers coach Mike Holmgren. That started the ascent of Gruden’s coaching career.
This is the first time Green Bay has played a pre-season game in Oakland since 2001 and it surely will be the last with the Raiders soon moving to Las Vegas. The teams last played in the 2016 pre-season at Lambeau Field, a 20-12 Green Bay win.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers are 5-5 against the Raiders in the pre-season all-time. This is Green Bay’s first pre-season road game this year as it won 31-17 vs. Tennessee in Week 1 and 51-34 vs. Pittsburgh in Week 2 – no team has looked better offensively thus far. Rodgers only played vs. the Steelers and briefly, going 2-for-4 for 35 yards and a score.
If you are wondering why this spread is so big for a pre-season game, it’s because the rumours are that Rodgers is done for the 2018 exhibition schedule. He doesn’t need the work and was seen running with the scout team in practice this week. Usually, starters play about a half in Week 3. The Packers have won a pre-season road game each of the past 11 years.
Oakland Raiders
Rodgers’ favourite target the past several years in Green Bay was receiver Jordy Nelson, but the Packers surprisingly released the fan favorite this off-season – and Rodgers was not thrilled about it. Nelson signed with the Raiders and will play Friday.
One Raider you won’t see is one of the best defensive players in the NFL, end/linebacker Khalil Mack. He’s holding out for a new contract and it has been a bitter negotiation. Many believe Mack will hold out into the season and that there’s a chance Oakland could just trade him. Green Bay has been a rumored landing spot. Oakland is 1-1 this pre-season, winning home vs. Detroit and losing at the Rams.
