Ravens at Raiders

Written by Rock Henderson

The Baltimore Ravens didn’t get the result they were looking for last week versus the Steelers with a 23-20 loss, but they still control their own destiny when it comes to earning a playoff spot. A win against the hapless Raiders will take the Ravens to Foxboro to clash with the New England Patriots. Jim Harbaugh’s squad has battled through injuries and a very tough division to put themselves in position for postseason play. Oakland shows flashes of turning the corner, but they seem to play up or down to their competition. According to our NFL lines, the Raiders are a 10 point underdog.

Tom Cable might have bought himself another year calling the shots for the Raiders with wins over the Eagles, Bengals, Steelers and Broncos. Four of the five team wins have come against playoff caliber teams, but it is the losses like a 23-9 defeat to the Cleveland Browns that leave Raider fans scratching their head. The quarterback carousel continues to take place in Oakland as the organization has started three different players at the position. Bruce Gradkowski showed the most promise before an injury ended his season prematurely. He threw for a little over 1000 yards and six touchdowns in limited duty. Al Davis has finally realized that JaMarcus Russell is not the long term solution and is even willing to play journeyman Charlie Frye in front of Russell now. The running game has been delegated to a trio of backs also as Michael Bush leads the team with 571 yards. Justin Fargas has contributed 491 yards and three scores, while draft bust Darren McFadden has played a Reggie Bush type role this year. One bright spot on this team is the tight end position as Zach Miller as a team high 59 catches for 767 yards. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski has connected on six field goals of over 50 yards that includes a league record 61 yard connection last week.

It is not often that an 8-7 team in the AFC can secure a playoff position in the final week of the season but that is exactly what the Baltimore Ravens can accomplish in Week 17. A flurry of tiebreaker scenarios have been used to decide which two teams have the inside track to the wild card spots. The Jets can also secure a chance to reach the Super Bowl with a win over Cincinnati. Baltimore still possess one of the most ferocious defenses in the league, but it has been the emergence of the offense that has given the team a more balanced attack. Second year RB Ray Rice is most likely heading to the Pro Bowl as the former Rutgers star has accumulated 1269 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. His presence catching the ball out of the backfield gives the Ravens an added dimension as he leads the team with 74 catches. Joe Flacco has been good but not great this season as he tends to still turn the ball over in key situations. Last season’s first round draft pick has thrown for 3511 yards and 21 scores while being intercepted 12 times. There is no question that the Ravens will be a tough out in the playoffs as the defense is second in the league in points allowed per game and are in the top 10 in points scored.

This number seems low for the position that the Ravens are in and the fact that the Raiders have absolutely nothing to play for. Vegas set it this low because Oakland has continually played the upper-echelon teams of the NFL competitively. That was with Bruce Gradkowski though, not Charlie Frye. The Raiders won’t reach double digits in points for the second week in a row and Ray Rice will be too much for Oakland’s defense to handle. Lay the 10.

Recommended Play: Ravens -10

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