The Oakland Raiders head to the bayou as they open their 2016 season with a game against the New Orleans Saints Sunday afternoon. Kickoff from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is set for 1:00 pm ET. Television coverage is provided for this contest by FOX. The Vegas odds show the Saints as 2 point favorites in the contest with the over/under set at 52 points.
Oakland finished the 2015 season 7-9 and missed the postseason for the 13th straight year. The last time they made the playoffs, they lost the Super Bowl back after the 2002 season. New Orleans was dreadful defensively last year, dooming them to a 7-9 mark. The Saints missed the playoffs for the second straight year. This is the 13th all-time meeting between the teams. New Orleans holds a 6-5-1 edge in the all-time series. The Saints won the last three in the series, including a 38-17 win in Oakland November 18, 2012 in the last meeting.
Derek Carr was 350 of 573 for 3,987 yards with 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season. Matt McGloin was 23 of 32 for 142 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in his relief work. Latavius Murray is the unquestioned feature back. He totaled 266 carries for 1,066 yards and six scores. No one else finished with more than Carr’s 138 yards on the ground for the Raiders.
Amari Cooper was solid in his rookie season. He finished second on the team with 72 grabs for a team high 1,070 yards and six scores while Michael Crabtree was solid after coming over in free agency as he has a team-high 85 receptions for 922 yards and eight touchdowns. Murray (41 receptions) and Marcel Reece (30 catches) are both good receivers out of the backfield. Seth Roberts is developing into a solid third receiver with 32 catches for 480 yards and five scores. Tight ends Mychal Rivera (32 catches) and Clive Walford (28 grabs) give Carr big safety valves. Sebastian Janikowski hit 38 of 39 extra points and 21 of 26 field goal attempts with a long of 56 yards.
Drew Brees completed 428 of 627 passes for 4,870 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 picks while taking 31 sacks. Luke McCown is the backup. He hit 32 of 39 passes for 335 yards and an interception. Mark Ingram was the team’s leading rusher with 166 carries for 769 yards and five scores but missed four games last season. Tim Hightower (96 carries, 375 yards, 4 TD) and C.J. Spiller (36 carries, 112 yards) are the next men up on the depth chart.
Brandin Cooks was the team’s leading receiver with 84 grabs for 1,138 yards and nine scores while Snead (69 receptions, 984 yards, 3 TD) is another other solid option for Brees to target in the passing game. Ingram had 50 catches out of the backfield. The receiving corps is extremely young with Brandon Coleman along with rookies Michael Thomas, Tommylee Lewis and Kyle Prater on the depth chart. Zack Hocker and Kai Forbath were the kickers for the Saints last season but neither man is back this year. Rookie Wil Lutz was signed last week to take over the kicking duties.
New Orleans couldn’t stop a high school team’s passing attack last season. The Saints gave up 4,705 yards through the air with 45 touchdown passes against only nine picks last year. Opposing quarterbacks put up a 116.2 QB rating against New Orleans last year. That has Carr foaming at the mouth to get on the field here. The Raiders are primed to take a step forward this season and it starts here. Take the points as the Raiders get the win. Don’t forget to check here for more NFL picks from week 1!
The Raiders are 5-1 ATS in their last six on the road and 6-2 ATS in their last eight on fieldturf. New Orleans is 2-5 ATS in their last seven in September and 1-4 ATS in their last five in week 1.