Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders Spread

The Denver Broncos (2-5) and Oakland Raiders (4-3) will be looking to bounce back from embarrassing losses when they meet Sunday at the Coliseum.

Odds makers believe Oakland has the edge.

The Raiders are currently listed as an 8.5-point favorite with the total set at 43.

The Raiders, who are coming off a bye week, were last in action on Oct. 23 when they endured a 28-0 loss at home to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Quarterback Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer combined to throw six interceptions. Two of those picks were returned for touchdowns.

The Raiders did rush for 167 yards. Michael Bush had 99 of those to lead the team.

The Broncos are coming off an ugly performance as well. A week after Tim Tebow led a thrilling comeback against the Miami Dolphins, he was sacked seven times and committed two turnovers in a 45-10 home loss to the Detroit Lions.

Tebow completed 18 of 39 throws for 172 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He carried the ball 10 times for 63 yards and lost a fumble.

Eric Decker led the Broncos with six catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Knowshon Moreno led the way on the ground with 69 yards on 14 carries.

In order to bounce back this week, the Broncos will have to slow down Oakland’s running attack.

The Raiders, who rank second in the NFL with 159.3 rushing yards per game, will be up against a Denver defense that ranks 17th against the run with 117.7 yards allowed per contest.

The Broncos are 0-4 this season when allowing their opponents to rush for more than 100 yards.

While Denver would prefer to run the football this week with its eighth-ranked rushing attack, it may have a better chance of moving the football through the air against Oakland’s 25th-ranked pass defense (266.0 yards allowed per game).

Perhaps Tebow will be able to silence his many doubters with a big day through the air against one of the weaker pass defenses in the NFL.

The Raiders have won the last four meetings in this series, and their running game has been dominant during this stretch. They have averaged 255.8 yards per game on the ground in these contests.

Oakland won the season’s first meeting 23-20 in Denver on Sept. 12.

The Raiders won 39-23 on Dec. 19, 2010 in the most recent meeting in Oakland.

The Broncos are 0-4 against the spread in the last four meetings, but their fortune could change Sunday. After all, the road team is 6-1 against the number in the last seven meetings and the underdog is 8-3 against the spread in the last 11.

As far as the total is concerned, the over has been the play recently. These two have finished over the total in each of the last four matchups. Oakland, however, has played to the under in each of its last four games.

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