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Carolina Panthers at Oakland Raiders NFL Predictions & Picks

Written by Jimmy Boyd on November 7, 2008

Last week’s home loss to the Atlanta Falcons has not inspired any confidence in the Raiders from odds makers this week as they have listed Oakland as the 9.5-point underdog against another NFC South team. That other team is the first place Carolina Panthers who will be trying not to fall on the road for the third straight time this season.

The Panthers will be going after their third straight win when they take the field in Oakland this Sunday. The 6-2 Panthers entered last week’s bye off a pair of home wins. Their last win over Arizona, rallying from a two-touchdown deficit for a 27-23 win on Oct. 26th was particularly impressive. The Panthers have the second-best mark in the NFC behind the 7-1 New York Giants and could be tied for the best mark this week if they are able to win and the Giants go down in Philly (Eagles are 3-point favorites).

The Panthers went 7-9 last season, missing the playoffs for the second straight year. The offense particularly struggled during the campaign with QB Jake Delhomme sidelined with an elbow injury for much of it. This season the offense has come alive behind Delhomme, which in turn has ignited the once feared defense. The Panthers are holding opponents to 15.9 ppg and allowing just 305.6 yards per game. They were exposed against the strong offense of the Arizona Cardinals in their last contest however, giving up a season-high 425 yards.

The Panthers were able to overcome its defensive efforts in that game behind the right arm of QB Jake Delhomme who went 20 of 28 for 248 yards and two touchdowns. Delhomme has struggled in Carolina’s last two road games however, which has led to Carolina’s two losses. Delhomme committed five turnovers in those two defeats and the Panthers were outscored 47-13 at Minnesota and Tampa Bay. The Panthers have an excellent opportunity to stop the bleeding on the road against a Raiders team which is becoming more and more of a circus, thank to ring leader owner Al Davis.

Since Davis fired Lane Kiffin in favor of offensive line coach Tom Cable, the Silver and Black have been outscored 100-29 in their last four games. The Raiders also cut tied with Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall on Wednesday, waiving him less than eight months after he was acquired from Atlanta and given a $70 million contract. Hall did not look like he was interested in playing football anymore, at least in Oakland. He was beaten 40 times for 552 yards on 66 passes thrown his way, part of an Oakland defense which allows 373.9 yards per game to rank 28th in the NFL.

The offense has not been any better, averaging a NFL low 13.4 points per game on only 282.6 yards of total offense. The Raiders were dominated by Atlanta last week, giving up 453 yards and only gaining 77 themselves. QB JaMarcus Russell was 6 of 19 for 31 yards with an interception and was sacked four times, easily the worst start of his career.

While not much seems to be in Oakland’s favor this week, at least history is. Oakland is 2-1 all-time versus Carolina, winning 27-24 on the road on Nov. 7, 2004 in the teams’ most recent matchup. The Raiders are still a proud franchise with proud young players. This team was dominated about as bad as a team can be last week and it was on their home field. This will be a statement game for the young Raiders and I like them to stick right with a Carolina team which has had problems on the road. Bet the Raiders at +9.5 at Bookmaker.

Editor’s Note: Get Jimmy Boyd’s Week 10 Sunday NFL picks package featuring his Packers/Vikings NFC North Game of the Year and his Giants/Eagles 4* Major Sunday Night Football Game of the Month Top Plays. This package is your surefire ticket to beating the NFL odds with your football betting this Sunday.

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