Jacksonville at Oakland

Time: 3:05 PM CST, CBS

Spread: OAK -7

Total: 47

Odds c/o 5dimes

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 4-9 and in last-place in the AFC South Division. The Jags enter this week as losers of its last five games, hoping to get back on track against the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are 7-point favorites at home, where the game will kick off at 3 PM (CST) on CBS and CBS Affiliates. The betting total is set at 47 points according to NFL oddsmakers at bookmaker 5dimes.

JAX

Jacksonville has certainly struggled in many ways throughout this season, but this was at one point a 4-5 football team with a legitimate Wild Card chance. Then came five-straight losses and the hiring of a new head coach in Scott Milanovich. Milanovich is the former head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, and he has been the QB coach for the Jaguars in the last few seasons. He is focused on improving the quarterback play over the Jaguars’ final three games this season.

That seems like as good a place as any to start, considering that Jacksonville is still riding Gardner Minshew, who has been mostly mediocre since his hot start. Minshew has thrown 61.5 percent for completion but averages just seven yards-per-catch, and his 3-to-1 TD to INT ratio bears worthy of improvement as well. Even so, Minshew has an almost-decent 90.3 passer rating, and he could turn into a true starter with the work of Milanovich. The top receiver DJ Chalk Jr has certainly shown that he can make plays for Minshew. He has caught 67 of 106 targeted passes for 956 yards and eight of the team’s 18 total receiving touchdowns.

Three others, including No. 1 running back Leonard Fournette have over 400 receiving yards, on the season. Fournette has fared well as the No. 1 backfield option too. He has attempted 235 rushes for 1,039 yards and three touchdowns. However, he has had precious little help aside from Minshew’s 274 yards. No. 2 running back Ryquell Armstead has rushed just 23 times on the season.

No one outside these three options has done much to speak of.

Kicker Josh Lambo may be the brightest spot on the roster. He has hit 26 of 27 field goals, including 9 of 9 from 30-to-39 yards, and both attempts from beyond midfield. His lone miss came on a 40-plus harder, while his long on the season is 53-yards. He is very good and solid, but the offense has to do a (far) better job of getting in the red zone and scoring, so he can rack up far more PATs than the 14 of 15 he has attempted this season.

Jacksonville is averaging just 17.7 points per game, which is the fourth-worst in the NFL. Meanwhile, it is not even that strong defensively in allowing nearly 26 per game. It all equates to a point-differential of -8.2 points for the Jaguars, even despite possessing a No. 12 ranked pass offense and No. 14 ranked rush. The execution simply has not been there.

OAK

Oakland fell by a score of 21-42 to the Tennessee Titans last week. It marked the third-straight loss as Oakland fell below .500 at 6-7 now.

The Raiders rank No. 15 in the NFL in passing yards with 234.1 per game and are No. 11 via the rush with 120.7 yards per game. Oakland scores just 19.8 per game, but its defense has not been good. The Raiders surrender 28.2 points per game and have a negative point differential of -8.4 points.

Carr has quietly put together a pretty solid season. The veteran quarterback has 3.1k passing yards on 70.8 percent passing with a 7.7 yard-per-catch average. He has thrown 18 TD passes and just eight interceptions, and he has also only been sacked 20 times this season. Carr is not much of a rushing threat with just 13  attempts for 24 total yards, but he did rush for one touchdown. Jacobs leads the team with 124 rushing attempts for 1,061 yards and seven touchdowns. He has also accounted for 49 first downs this season. No. 2 running back DeAndre Washington has just 62 attempts and averages only 3.4 yards-per-carry.

The top receiver for Oakland has been tight end Darren Waller. He leads the team in receptions (72), yardage (879) and first downs (41). Waller is No. 2 in touchdowns with three. WR1 Tyrell Williams has 36 catches for 524 yards and leads the team with 14.6 yards-per-catch. He has caught five TD passes. Renfrow rounds out the top-three with his 36 catches for 396 yards and two touchdowns.