Is this Mac Jones’ final chance to prove himself to Bill Belichick? How much does Josh McDaniels want to beat his former coach? Are the New England Patriots looking at a potential 1-7 record down the road with a loss today? These are some of the noteworthy questions surrounding what feels like a must-win for the Patriots today against the Las Vegas Raiders.
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Patriots vs. Raiders Betting Lines, Start Time, and More
All odds from DraftKings Sportsbook.
- Spread: Raiders -3
- Moneyline: Patriots (+130); Raiders (-155)
- Over/Under: 42
- Game time: 4:05 p.m. ET
- Location: Allegiant Stadium
- Channel: CBS
Patriots vs. Raiders Prediction
In the eyes of many, it’s do or die for Jones. The Patriots’ third-year QB has struggled mightily this season, with a passer rating (74.2) that ranks 31st out of 33 qualified quarterbacks. He has been replaced in each of his last two games by Bailey Zappe, so how long of a leash Belichick provides him remains to be seen.
And while Jones clearly has struggled, it’s not as if he is surrounded with All-Pro-level talent on the offensive side of the ball.
New England doesn’t have anyone who has accumulated at least 300 yards from scrimmage. Rhamondre Stevenson leads the team in this category with 275, which ranks 59th in the NFL. As a runner, Stevenson is averaging the fewest yards per carry of any player who has at least 40 rushing attempts this season (2.8).
New England’s leading wide receiver, Kendrick Bourne, has a total of just 18 receptions. JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had over 900 yards receiving last season, has just 86 yards on the season, and he will be out today (concussion).
Given the Patriots’ issues, can the Raiders take advantage? A second straight win would get Las Vegas back to .500 at 3-3 and replace the bad taste of a three-game losing streak from a few weeks ago.
There are probably a host of people on the Raiders looking to try and pour dirt on Belichick and the Patriots season, beginning with McDaniels, who is 2-0 against his former coach.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who played on two of the Patriots’ Super Bowl-winning teams, and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers — New England’s leading receiver last season — will also be looking to beat their former team as well.
Garoppolo has been less than impressive in his first season with the Raiders, with more interceptions (league-high seven) than touchdown passes (six) and a passer rating (82.7) that ranks 24th so far. Last season with the 49ers, Garoppolo threw just four INTs in 11 games.
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But the Raiders know firsthand about how playing against your former team is no guarantee of success. Perhaps the best player on the field, Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, faced his former team, the Packers, last week and finished with season lows in targets (four), receptions (four), and receiving yards (45).
A combination of injuries for New England and its inept play, in general, has left Vegas with a decided edge in talent on the field for this matchup. With games against the Bills and Dolphins following this Week 6 contest, the Patriots are looking at a potential 1-7 record if they lose today.
All that said, it’s still difficult to back the Raiders here, given their scoring issues. Yes, the Patriots have scored all of three points in their last two games and are the league’s lowest-scoring team at 11.0 points per game. But not too far behind them are the Raiders, who rank 29th in scoring offense with 15.8 ppg.
These two teams have played 10 games combined, and the highest single-game point total for either of them is 20, which was done by the Patriots back in their season opener vs. the Eagles.
For me, it’s hard to see many points in this matchup, so I’m taking the under.
Best Bet: Under 42 (-112 at DraftKings SportsBook)
