Spread in Raiders vs Packers Moving in Favor of Oakland, Down to GB -5.5 Now

• Oakland is 3-2 and currently in a playoff position heading into a Week 8 matchup with Green Bay
• The Raiders are coming off a bye while the Packers could be without their top-three receivers
• Green Bay has a big showdown with Kansas City in Week 8

This Sunday (Oct. 20th, 1:00 PM ET), the Green Bay Packers host the Oakland Raiders as Jon Gruden’s squad returns off of a bye. The Raiders have been seeing a lot of action, which has led to the point spread dropping from Green Bay -7.5 down to Green Bay -5.5.

Is there value betting the Packers at this shorter number or will it get even smaller?

Oakland Raiders vs Green Bay Packers Odds

*Odds taken 10/12/19

Raiders Have Won Two In A Row

If the NFL playoffs started today, the Oakland Raiders would be one of the six contestants. As hard as that is to believe, it’s time to accept that Jon Gruden has actually turned things around, at least a little. The Raiders have picked up back-to-back wins on the road, beating the Colts in Indianapolis and the Bears in London.

The Raiders best path to victory on Sunday is running the football. This is a team that has found it’s identity by pounding away on the ground, ranking eighth in the league in rushing yards per game (134.4). Rookie running back Josh Jacobs is coming off his best game, beating up the Bears for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Live look at Josh Jacobs preparing for Sunday’s game in Green Bay: pic.twitter.com/hYNSAvcGQZ

— Raider Cody (@RaiderCody) October 16, 2019

Part of why this line has come down is that the Packers rushing defense is concerning porous. The Detroit Lions didn’t run the ball much against them last week but the Dallas Cowboys hit them up for 122 rushing yards, the Philadelphia Eagles had 176, the Denver Broncos had 149, and the Minnesota Vikings had 198.

If the Raiders can run the ball here, they’re going to be in great shape to either win or cover.

How Good Are The Packers?

There’s no question that the Packers are one of the better teams in the NFC right now as they’ve won five of six straight up and are 4-2 ATS. However, their performance on Monday Night Football against Detroit left much to be desired.  They probably don’t win that game without help from the referees.

“I did say at the end of last season that I did not believe a rebuild was necessary, more like a reload.”

— Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com/abkeL5oz7s

— IKE Packers (@IKE_Packers) October 17, 2019

If Green Bay loses that game, would they still have opened as a 7.5-point favorite? Probably not.

Packers Are Banged Up

Another big concern with laying this many points with the Packers is the general state of their roster. It looks like they could be without their top three receivers: Davante Adams is still out while Geronimo Allison and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are both banged up too. Jimmy Graham also missed practice on Wednesday.

Two of the best throws I’ve ever seen came from Rodgers last night. Absolute dimes. pic.twitter.com/8GOEWQwFAt

— ? Packers #1 Fan™ ? (@ParkerMoes) October 15, 2019

The team signed Ryan Grant this week, which gives you an idea of the state of their receiving corps and another reason why bettors have been on Oakland.

What’s The Best Bet?

It feels like some of the value with Oakland is gone but I see this number continuing to drop. Oakland is fresh and crisp off a bye while the Packers are banged up on a short week. Also, it’s possible that Green Bay is caught looking ahead a little bit to their big showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs next week.

Every Josh Jacobs run over 10 yards.

Ankles will be broken in this video. I apologize in advance.#RaiderNation #Raiders pic.twitter.com/yWjgJOthPu

— Marc John (@TheMarcJohnNFL) October 14, 2019

Overall, I’d take the Raiders as they look like a live dog. The original +7.5 spread looked much better than +5.5, but the Raiders vs Packers odds might close somewhere in the neighborhood of Green Bay -4.