Sunday the Raiders return home following back-to-back road losses. There they will face a Titans team coming off three-straight wins, one of which was on the road in Indianapolis. Oddsmakers are clearly gauging these two teams by their recent performances and therefore have the Titans as 3-point favorites over the Raiders in Oakland.
Two weeks ago, the Titans were sitting at 5-5 and the Raiders were 6-4, coming off three-straight wins. Had these two teams met up then, the line would likely have been very different. But this is a ‘what have you done for me lately’ league and over the past couple weeks these two teams have headed in different directions.
The Raiders have been outscored 74-12 in New York and Kansas City while the Titans have outscored the Jaguars and Colts 73-37. And the game prior to that, they beat the Chiefs — a team that has blown out the Raiders twice this season by a combined score of 68-19.
The X-factor here is — outside of their 28-10 loss to the Chiefs in week two — the Raiders have played much better at home this season. They are 4-1 in Oakland. I don’t doubt the oddsmakers have factored that in when setting the line, but that doesn’t mean the Raiders can’t overcome it.
