Oakland Raiders vs. Houston Texans 2019: Prediction Against The Spread, Betting Odds For NFL Week 8

The Oakland Raiders might be one of the NFL’s most unpredictable teams in the 2019 season. With a .500 record heading into Week 8, Jon Gruden’s squad has looked awful in some games and like a potential playoff contender in others.

The betting line suggests that Oakland’s upcoming road game with the Houston Texans won’t end well for the Raiders. Houston is a 6.5-point favorite, according to the betting line at OddsShark. The over/under is 51.

Week 7 didn’t go as Oakland had hoped. With a chance to remain just a half-game behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, the Raiders were blown out by the Green Bay Packers 42-24 at Lambeau Field.

It’s not exactly shocking that Oakland came up short against one of the NFL’s best teams, but their previous two games had much of the betting public believing that the Raiders could challenge the Packers. Prior to their bye in Week 6, Oakland picked up impressive wins away from home against formidable opponents.

The Raiders beat the Chicago Bears 24-21 in London in Week 5. Chicago hadn’t given up more than 15 points in their first four games of the season. Oakland upset the Indianapolis Colts 31-24 in Week 4. All Indianapolis has done since then is beat the Chiefs and Texans, looking like a legitimate candidate to earn one of the AFC’s two playoff byes.

Which Raiders’ team will show up in Houston Sunday?

Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes both put up big numbers in wins against Oakland. Rodgers threw for five touchdowns with a perfect passer rating in Week 7. Mahomes threw for 443 yards and four scores when the Chiefs visited the Raiders in Week 2.

Kirk Cousins was the other quarterback to defeat Oakland. He isn’t in the same tier as Mahomes and Rodgers, but he’s put up better numbers than most signal callers in 2019. Minnesota’s $84 million man leads the NFL in passer rating and yards per attempt this season.

Oakland beat Joe Flacco and Mitchell Trubisky, who are two of the NFL’s worst starting quarterbacks. Their victory over Jacoby Brissett is the one outlier, though the Raiders did give up three passing touchdowns in that win.

Deshaun Watson is in the MVP conversation with Rodgers and Mahomes. He’s put up big numbers, especially against the worst pass defenses on Houston’s schedule.

In two games against teams that rank in the bottom-five in opponents’ passer rating, Watson has gone 53-67 for 771 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. Oakland is 29th in the league, allowing quarterbacks to post a 115.6 passer rating in 2019. Only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have surrendered more yards through the air per game than Oakland.

When the Raiders lose, they lose big. All three of their defeats have come by 18 points or more.

Houston’s last three wins have all been by at least a touchdown. The Texans are 3-0 against teams that don’t enter Week 8 with a record above .500.

Prediction: Houston over Oakland, 33-20