I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve been waiting for Sunday for a while. I appreciate what Kirk Cousins was able to do for the Las Vegas Raiders over the last nine weeks, but it’s Fernando Mendoza’s time now! It took a little longer than expected, but we finally get to see Mendoza make his first regular-season start for the Raiders in the Week 10 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. And of course, our Silver and Black Pride Pick’em Competition is heating up, too!
Odds below are provided by FanDuel
Sportsbook and are subject to change.
Raiders vs. Seahawks
- Spread: SEA -6.5
- O/U: 40.5
- SEA ML: -290
- LV ML: +235
Holder’s picks: LV +6.5, Under 40.5, SEA ML
For context, the line moved after the Cousins trade, as the opening odds had the Seahawks as a field goal favorite. That’s fair seeing as it’s a rookie quarterback making his first start, and Seattle’s head coach, Mike Macdonald, has a great track record against first-year passers. It also doesn’t help that the Seahawks have arguably the best defense in the NFL, so I’m not going to bet on Mendoza getting his first win in his first start.
However, the reigning Champs are beaten up right now, especially on offense, where backup quarterback Drew Lock is expected to start. Plus, they’ve struggled to run the ball this season, so this could be an opportunity for the Raiders’ defense to have a “get right” game and at least keep it close. Granted, I’m sure people in Seattle are looking at Las Vegas’ run defense and making similar statements about the Seahawks’ rushing attack…
Pick’em Competition
Moving on to S&BP’s Pick’em competition, below is a look at how our writers finished last week.
- Bill Williamson 77-43-1 (64%)
- Ray Aspuria 85-50-1 (63%)
- Matt Holder 79-56-1 (59%)
Week 9 had a lot of chalky results, so just about everyone did pretty well. For example, Bill and I tied for second among the writers at 13-2. Meanwhile, Ray took advantage by going 14-1 to pick up a game on us. Granted, Bill still holds a narrow lead over Ray. As for me, I had the much-needed strong performance to avoid the embarrassment of falling below .500, but it wasn’t strong enough to make much of a difference in the standings.
Community Standings
1. TV Raider 93-42
t-2. radrntn 92-43
t-2. Running With the Night 92-43
t-2. Mooniac 92-43
t-5. D-town Raider 91-44
t-5. Sin City Saviors 91-44
t-5. Roosky Raiders 91-44
t-5. AElizalde87 91-44
t-9. Freddy B Good 89-46
t-9. Edgaredm08 89-46
t-9. Chattanooga Benny 89-46
Week 9 Top Pickers
- Freddy B Good 15-0
- Hoosier hank 15-0
- D-town Raider 15-0
- radrntn 15-0
Sure, last weekend was chalky. However, perfect picks are perfect picks, and we had four people bat 1.000 in Week 9! That’s impressive, as is 25 community members getting 14 games correct! We certainly have some ball knowers over here. As for the standings, TV Raider came down a bit, with three people within one pick and four more two games behind. We’re halfway through the regular season, and it’s still very much anyone’s game.
Best of luck with your picks this weekend!
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