Raiders @ Texans, 4:35 PM ET:

 

  1. Connor Cook went 14/21 for 150 yards 1 TD and 1 INT last week vs the Broncos. He also had 2 fumbles. In the preseason he had 0 TDs and 3 INTs. He had a very successful career at Michigan State winning a lot of big games in the Big Ten but ended his career losing 38-0 to Alabama.

2. The Texans are in a weird spot. The obvious weird spot is they’re starting their former #1 QB turned-backup-turned-starter again because of the injury to Tom Savage, but the other position they’re in is that Bill O’Brien may actually be coaching his last game for the Texans. O’Brien and the front office apparently haven’t gotten along since the Brock Osweiler deal and the friction is bad enough where it may lead the two sides to split.

3. LT Donald Penn is out for the Raiders, missing his first game this season and adding a huge loss to the Raiders offense.

4. 61% of the public is backing the Texans at -4 and 59% are backing the low Over of 36.5.

 

Lions @ Seahawks, 8:15 PM ET

  1. Lions starting C Travis Swanson is OUT for this game
  2. 59% of the public is backing the Lions at +9 while 72% are backing the Over at 44.
  3. The offensive lines are the weak points of both teams coming into this game. The Seahawks have struggled badly in the running game as has the Lions. This game will likely come down to whichever defensive line wins the battle upfront against the respective offensive lines.
  4. While everyone is talking about Matthew Stafford’s injured finger an injury that may be flying under the radar is Russell Wilson’s knee acting up again. Against the 49ers last week Wilson scrambled for a run and would typically pick up speed and get away from the edge rushers but in this case he wasn’t able to get away from the defender and was chased down. It led his offensive coordinator to say this week that he wasn’t sure if Wilson was at 100% speed. This is definitely something to monitor Saturday night.

 

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