‘Monday Night Football’ picks and open thread: Packers at Raiders

Obviously this game will pale in comparison to the one last Monday, but let’s have some fun with the final matchup of Week 5 anyway . . .

Fun Fact: I was a teenager the last time the Oakland Los Angeles Oakland Las Vegas Raiders beat the Green Bay Packers.

The year was 1987.

Note: If you want to have some fun, check out the box score from that game: The leading receiver for each team had 33 yards, and four quarterbacks combined to complete a total of 21 passes on 51 attempts.

How about some more history?

These two teams first met on January 14th, 1968 in little game called Super Bowl II (aka Ess Bee Eye-Aye).

The Packers won that day by a score of 33-14, but wouldn’t beat the Raiders in the regular season until 1990, when Green Bay snapped a 5-game losing streak against the Silver and Black.

A win tonight would be Green Bay’s 9th-straight against the Raiders.

Unfortunately . . .

DraftKings Sportsbook favors the Sin City team.

Me, I think the Packers will win.

Reasons:

1. Green Bay’s last game was 10 days ago, when they lost to the Lions on Thursday Night Football, so they should be well-rested.
2. Green Bay’s “pattern” this season is Win —> Lose —> Win —> Lose, which means the next result in the sequence is —> Win.
3. The Raiders have lost three straight (at Buffalo, 38-10; vs. Pittsburgh, 23-18; and at the Chargers, 27-17); their only win of the season is over Denver in Week 1, by a single point (17-16).
4. Davante Adams is nursing a shoulder injury and even if he plays (he was listed as “Questionable” on Friday), he’s not going to be 100%.
5. Jimmy Garoppolo is the Raiders quarterback. I’m sorry, that’s mean. But I’m also not sorry, because it’s true.
   
   Absent the advantages that Kyle Shanahan’s scheme (and San Francisco’s talent) afforded him, Garoppolo has struggled. He’s currently No. 20 in QBR, No. 24 in quarterback rating, and has more interceptions (6) than touchdown passes (5).

Bonus Reason: Coaching.

The Pick: Green Bay wins and, by extension, the Raiders fail to cover | Under45 points.

Let’s see if my Field Gulls cohorts agree . . .

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