The Broncos are out of playoff contention. The Raiders are hanging on by a thread, but are not officially out of it. But that doesn’t matter to the oddsmakers who have the 6-9 Broncos favored by 3.5 points over the 7-8 Raiders according to various betting sites.
As usual, it’s about what these teams have done for you lately. And the Raiders broke a 4-game losing streak last week while Broncos have won three of their last four games. They’ve also won three straight at home.
The key has been the emergence of QB Drew Lock who has started the past four games and has completed 64.8% of his passes for 843 yards, 6 TDs and 3 interceptions in his four starts. His 210.8 yards per game isn’t setting the world on fire, but there is no denying this team has played considerably better than it had under Brandon Allen and Joe Flacco before him.
The Broncos had a hiccup against the Chiefs — the Raiders know all about that — but the other three wins the past four weeks, they have outscored their opponents by an average of 7 points per game.
