Cincinnati Bengals vs Oakland Raiders preview, predictions, betting odds, live stream info
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Oakland Raiders
The Cincinnati Bengals come into O.co Coliseum to meet the Oakland Raiders in week one of the 2015 NFL season looking to continue the regular season success that they’ve had in recent years. Andy Dalton, Jeremy Hill and A.J. Green will be looking to thrash Khalil Mack and the Oakland defense. Derek Carr, Latavius Murray, and rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper, however, have plans of their own for the Bengals defense coming into the season-opener.
Details for Sunday’s game are below:
Date: Sunday, Sept. 13
Start Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Location: Oakland, CA
Stadium: O.co Coliseum
TV Info: CBS
Live Stream: NFL Sunday Ticket
Radio: Here
Ticket information: For Oakland Raiders ticket info click here. For Cincinnati Bengals ticket info click here.
Keys to Victory
There’s no question coming into this game who has the experience and perceived edge coming into this game. The Bengals come into the 2015 season having won 40 games over the past four seasons and have even more offensive weapons to rely on. A.J. Green is back at 100 percent health, giving Andy Dalton one of the most reliable and underrated receivers in the league to throw to. Cincinnati will also rely heavily on running back Jeremy Hill, who showed flashes of greatness last season and will be getting the unquestioned first-string role in the offense this year. That offensive weaponry will be up against a young Raiders defense littered with talent, but that was tore up week after week in 2014. Defensively, Cincinnati will be relying on Geno Atkins and Michael Johnson to make things difficult for a young Raiders offense.
Youth and inexperience are unquestionably the biggest weaknesses for Oakland’s offense with Derek Carr entering just his second year, running back Latavius Murray never having taken the role as the lead back, and Amari Cooper playing in his first NFL game. The talent is there, but there are warranted questions about how an offense that was one of the NFL’s worst last season will fair with such inexperience and under a new head coach in Jack Del Rio. The potential is there, as it is with Khalil Mack and the defense, but the Raiders and how they’ll look under Del Rio is shrouded in uncertainty.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Cincinnati Bengals -3
Moneyline: Cincinnati Bengals -150
O/U: 43
Prediction
Everything about last season, experience, and talent indicates that the Bengals should roll into Oakland and come away with an easy win. However, this is the type of game that Cincinnati will drop—the one’s that they should win. Moreover, I expect the Raiders to come out at home playing with a lot of fire under a new coach and with a load of new weapons. I think the Raiders pull off a relatively big upset to start the 2015 NFL season.
Final Score: Cincinnati Bengals: 17, Oakland Raiders: 27