Talk about two of the more feel-good stories to open the season. The Baltimore Ravens have opened the season 3-0, with their latest victory coming last week in Jacksonville 19-17. The Oakland Raiders, on the other hand, are 2-1 after going into Tennessee and winning 17-10 last week. This week the Raiders come East to take on the Ravens. It will be a battle of high powered offense vs solid defense in one of the more interesting week 4 match-ups in the NFL.

Let’s first take a look at the Raiders. The Raiders, despite a lackluster offensive performance as a whole last week, still rank rather highly in many offensive categories. They are second in the league in both rushing and total yards. In addition to that, they are eighth in points and passing yards. That is an extremely high-powered offense that has proven it can score 30 points in any given week. Their defense, which struggled in the opening two weeks, stepped up last week, holding the Titans to 10 points. But was that because it was the Titans? That should not matter as they will take on the Ravens, who an offense that ranks rather low in the league like the Titans.

The Ravens offense does not rank above 21st in any major offensive categories. They have managed to go undefeated in three games thanks to their defense, which on average, has allowed 18 points a game. But the team has not gone up against an offense as potent as the Raiders yet, having faced the Bills, the Browns, and a struggling Jaguars club. The Raiders offense will be the defenses first true test this season.

As a whole, I am all aboard the Raiders bandwagon. The only reason I hesitate is because they are traveling cross-country, which always scares me. But they do not need to win the game, as they only need to stay within a field goal. That means they can pull this out from a betting standpoint even if they lose a close one. At the end of the day I think the offensive difference in the clubs will be enough to overcome this, so give me the underdogs in this one.

Line: Bal -3.5, O/U: 46.5

Pick: Raiders and the over

Result: Oak 28 – Bal 27, Raiders and the over

To see the spreads and over/under for each week four match-up, make sure you head over to our master sheet right here!