Oakland Raiders 2019 NFL Season Win/Loss Total Odds & Prediction

The first year of the rebuilding project in Oakland yielded just four wins, but the sports betting prognosticators think that improvement will come by the Bay, as you can get win/loss totals for the Raiders between six and 6 ½ games. The AFC West has not gotten any easier, unless you think that Denver bringing in Joe Flacco at quarterback to replace Case Keenum is their way of raising the white flag. Last year, the Raiders opened 1-8 before finishing with three wins in their last seven contests. Those last seven games included a two-point win at Arizona (a team in even worse straits than Oakland’s), a near-win in Kansas City, a home win over an unraveling Pittsburgh team, and a home win over Denver. They lost at Cincinnati (also in NFL purgatory) by two touchdowns, and then they saw Kansas City deliver a whipping to avenge the close shave in Week 17, losing in 35-3 fashion. What can we expect this season? Let’s look at the Oakland Raiders’ off-season changes and then take a trip through their schedule.

Oakland Raiders 2019 NFL Season Win/Loss Total Odds & Prediction

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— Oakland Raiders (@Raiders) June 4, 2019

The Oakland Raiders made some puzzling moves last year, such as letting Khalil Mack get away. It’s not easy to let the best defensive player in the NFL go, but the Raiders managed to do it. Then they traded Amari Cooper to Dallas for some primo draft picks in the middle of the season. After the 2018 season ended, they signed Mike Mayock, a former draft analyst for the NFL Network, as their new general manager. Mayock had absolutely no experience, but he hasn’t done badly so far. First, they got Pittsburgh to ship them Antonio Brown for a third- and fifth-round draft pick — so they basically replaced Amari Cooper without having to give up nearly the same caliber of draft picks. Pittsburgh had initially been asking for two first-round picks but had not found any takers, so the Raiders kept the draft picks while replacing their #1 wide receiving option. This means that Derek Carr now has a ton of options when he drops back to pass. Oakland finished 2019 with just Jordy Nelson as a legitimate wide receiving option. Now the team has added J.J. Nelson and Tyrell Williams along with Brown. To bolster the offensive line, Oakland went to get Trent Brown, the Patriots’ left tackle, and gave him the biggest salary of any offensive lineman in the NFL. They added Isaiah Crowell at tailback. They need a legitimate backup quarterback for Carr; bringing in Mike Glennon and Landry Jones puts a body in the spot but not one the Raiders could trust if Carr went down for extended time. Now, let’s look at that schedule…

• Week 1: Denver (Monday)
• Week 2: Kansas City
• Week 3: at Minnesota
• Week 4: at Indianapolis
• Week 5: vs Chicago (in London)
• Week 6: BYE
• Week 7: at Green Bay
• Week 8: at Houston
• Week 9: Detroit
• Week 10: L.A. Chargers
• Week 11: Cincinnati
• Week 12: at N.Y. Jets
• Week 13: at Kansas City
• Week 14: Tennessee
• Week 15: Jacksonville
• Week 16: at L.A. Chargers
• Week 17: at Denver

Last year, Oakland opened on Monday Night Football at home and took an embarrassing thumping from the L.A. Rams. This year, they open at home again on Monday night, but it will be Denver coming to town, and I don’t see the Broncos having figured out their offense by the opener. A home game against Kansas City will see the Raiders fall to 1-1. Then come trips to Minnesota and Indianapolis. Will the Vikings have figured out how to run their offense? Will the Colts play like they did in the first half (dreadful) or the second half (terrific) last year? I see the Raiders splitting here to go 2-2. Then there’s the trip to London, which often turns into a crapshoot. They have the early bye and then visit Green Bay and Houston — two tough places to win, especially if Aaron Rodgers returns to form. I see them coming home from Houston at 3-4. Then they have home games against Detroit (another team in flux) and the Chargers (a team that might be ready to deliver some routs after that playoff embarrassment). I’m calling for another split there to put Oakland at 4-5. Then come a home game against Cincinnati and a trip to New York to play the Jets.  You’re going to have a hard time getting me to pick the Bengals in any head-to-head contests this season, but the Jets are dangerous with the addition of Le’Veon Bell and a Sam Darnold who has a year of seasoning, so give me another split. At 5-6, the Raiders would then only need to win two of their last five to go over. They visit Kansas City (L), host Tennessee (L), host Jacksonville (L), visit the Chargers (L) and visit Denver (possible L after that long streak). So despite that hopeful start, I’m taking the Raiders to go under.