 NFL Preseason Pick - Detroit at Oakland
Detroit (1-1 SU and ATS) at Oakland (3-0 SU and ATS)
Detroit hits the road for the second straight week, this time to heading west to play the undefeated Raiders.
The Lions blew a 16-10 third-quarter lead last week in Cleveland, falling 20-16 as a three-point road underdog. Starting quarterback Jon Kitna played well in the loss, going 7 of 12 for 94 yards and a touchdown. Kitna and the rest of the Lions’ starters are slated to play the first half. Backup quarterbacks Josh McCown and Dan Orlovsky, who are battling for the No. 2 job, will follow Kitna.
Oakland put together its most impressive performance of the summer in last week’s 23-7 rout of the 49ers as a three-point home chalk. Art Shell’s team held a 394-209 edge in total yards, and starting quarterback Aaron Brooks played by far his best game, hitting on 10 of 17 passes for 125 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and he also rushed four times for 31 yards. In the first two games, Brooks was just 2-for-9 for 28 yards.
Brooks will start tonight and may play as much as the first half. The status of backup Andrew Walter (53.8 percent, 293 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) is unknown, as he missed practiced time this week with a tired arm. Third-stringer Maques Tuiasosopo would move up and play with the second string if Walter can’t go.
Going back to the 2001 preseason, the Raiders are 8-3 at home in August (7-4 ATS). However, when laying points during that stretch, they’re just 8-10 ATS (1-0 ATS this year).
With last week’s loss at Cleveland, Detroit dropped to 2-9 in its last 11 exhibition road games (3-8 ATS). The Lions are also mired in a 4-8 ATS slump as an underdog.
Detroit is on an 0-2 SU and ATS slide in Week 3 of the preseason, getting outscored by a combined 35 points. Meanwhile, the Raiders, who are playing in their fourth exhibition contest, are 2-0 SU and ATS in Week 4 over the last two summers.
ATS ADVANTAGE: OAKLAND  | 
