5* BRONCOS/RAIDERS NFL THURSDAY NIGHT TOTAL OF THE YEAR

Denver vs. Oakland, 12/06/2012 20:20 EDT, Score: 26 - 13

Total: -102/+48½ Under

Sportsbook: 5Dimes

Result: Win

5* BRONCOS/RAIDERS NFL THURSDAY NIGHT TOTAL OF THE YEAR: UNDER 48.5

While I believe the Raiders are going to show up tonight against the Broncos, I'm not sure their best effort could keep them from losing this game by double-digits. Either way the focus on this game should be on this extremely inflated total. In the first meeting between these two teams, Denver won by a final of 37-6. We typically see a much lower-scoring game the second time two teams face off in the same season, and I believe that will be the case with this game being playing on Thursday Night Football in front of a national audience. Both teams have went UNDER the total in 4 of their last 5 Thursday Night games.

It doesn't matter what the record of the Raiders is, they are going to treat this game like it's their Super Bowl. They also know that if they want any chance of beating the Broncos they have to keep the ball out of Peyton Manning's hands. That's where I believe the return of running backs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson are going to play a big role in this game.

The other thing I took into consideration is that if Denver does jump out to an early lead, they likely won't press to put up more points. They have already clinched the AFC West and their focus is going to be on doing just enough to win and staying healthy over the final four weeks to make sure they are at full strength going into the playoffs.

UNDER is 5-1 in the Raiders last 6 games vs the AFC West and 5-2 in the Broncos last 7 vs their division rivals. BET THE UNDER!