Andy Hines

The Raiders and Titans come into 2017 with big expectations. Oakland contended for the AFC’s top spot until quarterback Derek Carr went down with a broken leg, and Tennessee finished with nine wins and closed 2016 on a 4-1 run. These young up-and-comers collide in the season opener, with public players and professionals seeing this game very differently.

The spread for this game actually had Oakland favored by 1.5 points on the road, but since posting this Week 1 game in the spring, sharp money moved that number over the fence to Titans -1.5 and most recently, pushed it to a field goal. If you grabbed Tennessee as a dog, there is a tremendous opportunity to middle this game should it finish tighter than three points.

The Raiders lost running back Latavius Murray but convinced Bay Area native, Marshawn Lynch, to come out of retirement. If Beast Mode can be the dominating rusher he once was, that will give Carr and a stacked passing game plenty of room to throw the ball.

Tennessee is no slouch with the football either. The Titans have another year under Marcus Mariota’s belt (he also missed the end of last season with a broken leg), and he has a strong one-two punch in the backfield with running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry. Downfield, Rishard Matthews is emerging as a deep threat and TE Delaine Walker proved to be a safe red-zone target, scoring seven touchdowns in 2016.

Given the preseason predictions, this game could very well be a postseason preview as the Seahawks and Packers are front runners to win their respective divisions. This spread opened at a field goal and has hung tight throughout the summer and into Week 1. The total, however, is an interesting tale, jumping from 49 to 51 points.

If you are wagering on this game, you may want to think about correlating parlays. If you’re siding with the Seahawks, that defense will need to slow Aaron Rodgers down and the offense will want to keep the ball out of his hands, leading to a lower-scoring finish and value with the Under. If you’re playing the Packers, look to tie in the Over. Green Bay’s defense is suspect, the running game is not existent, and having Rodgers sling it all over the field is the best option for the Cheeseheads.

The Seahawks will have a familiar face in their lineup, with former Green Bay running back Eddy Lacy moving to Seattle this offseason. Lacy will split carries with Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise on the ground, and will hopefully take some pressure off QB Russell Wilson to make plays every time the ball is snapped. Seattle’s offensive line hasn’t made life easy on its QB in recent seasons, and protection is key against the likes of Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.

Green Bay has been stellar in season openers, boasting a 7-3 ATS mark in Week 1 the last 10 seasons. The Packers have also made quick work of the Seahawks, as far as the books are concerned, covering the NFL pointspreads in six of their last 10 encounters (with two pushes) including a 4-0-1 ATS mark at Lambeau Field in that span.