Green Bay Packers v. Oakland Raiders: Predicting the Winner

The Green Bay Packers take on the Oakland Raiders and our staff at Dairyland Express is making their predictions for the game.

Coming off of a big win against the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers find themselves atop of the NFC North at 5-1. Meanwhile, the Oakland Raiders have been one of the surprise teams in the NFL this season, and after coming off of their bye week as well as two wins over the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts, they’re looking to pull off another upset.

A handful of our writers at Dairyland Express – including myself – have made their final predictions for Sunday’s matchup. So let’s take a look at how the Packers fared.

Matt Carroll: Packers 27, Raiders 20

Offensively, this game will likely come down to two teams playing to their strengths, while in turn exposing the other team’s defensive weakness. The Packers rank 13th in the league in passing offense by yards per game whereas the Raider pass defense ranks 22nd. Meanwhile, the Raiders offense is 10th in the NFL when running the ball with the Packers ranking 23rd defending the run. If both teams stick to what works, this could be a surprisingly close game. Two of Oakland’s three wins came against teams with winning records (Chicago and Indianapolis) so this isn’t exactly a guaranteed win for the Pack.

I think this game comes down to turnovers. The Green Bay Packers are tied for the 7th best turnover margin in the league with a +4 so far this year. Coming in on the negative side, the Raiders are tied for 18th with a -1 turnover margin. It’ll be a surprisingly close battle and depending on what wide receivers Aaron Rodgers has available at his disposal – Davante Adams has already been ruled out as of Friday – points could be harder to come by than fans would like. But I think the Packers secondary forces David Carr into a few mistakes and the Packers keep their lead in the NFC North with a win.

Mike Wendlandt: Packers 30, Raiders 13

If you were expecting a high-flying offensive show between Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr, you’re going to be extremely disappointed. Just about every receiver who’s accomplished anything in the NFL is either out for the game or extremely limited, which will lead to a heavy dose of running backs and tight ends. For the Green Bay Packers, that means that fans in attendance will be hearing the names of Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, Marcedes Lewis, and Jimmy Graham a lot. The Raiders can be beaten in the middle of the field with an average linebacking corps and secondary, and much like the Monday night game, Aaron Rodgers is just the guy to pick it apart.

Defensively, with Tyrell Williams out and Trent Brown doubtful, Mike Pettine can focus a bit more on slowing down Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller while attacking the right side of the Raiders line with Preston Smith, Kyler Fackrell, Dean Lowry, and company. As long as the big plays get limited, especially early, the Packers defense should win the day again and Aaron Rodgers and the offense run as smooth as they can when facing a lack of receiving might. The Packers will get to 6-1 on Sunday with a 30-13 win over the Raiders.

Kenny Jilek: Packers 27, Raiders 23

I am predicting the Packers’ defense to have a similar bend-not-break performance as last week. This is because I do see the Raiders being able to gain some solid yardage, but not being able to completely beat the defense. This season, the Raiders have done well at limiting things that are strengths of the Packers’ defense, sacking the quarterback, and getting interceptions. They have only allowed eight sacks, good for sixth in the NFL, and Derek Carr has only been picked off three times. Also, the run defense has been shaky for the Packers this season, and Josh Jacobs is having a really nice year, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.

Offensively, putting up 27 points could be a high prediction, based on the lack of weapons that the Packers could have. There are a lot of question marks in this week’s lineup, but Aaron Rodgers has shown his ability, time and time again, to make mediocre receivers great. The Bears scored 21 points on this Raiders defense just a couple of weeks ago, and if an offense led by Chase Daniel can do that, I have confidence that Rodgers can lead this team down the field effectively and score enough to win.

Jacob Westendorf: Packers 20, Raiders 10

I have a feeling this might be a frustrating game. I’m just not sure how either team scores. The Raiders are a good run defense team, while neither team has a good situation at wide receiver at this point. Ultimately, I think the Packers defense is better than Oakland’s. I also don’t have a very high opinion of Derek Carr. Because of those details, I think the Packers win.

Paul Bretl: Packers 24, Raiders 13

With Oakland coming off of a bye and some key injuries to the Green Bay Packers’ offense, I think this will be a fairly close game for the most part. On defense, they will have the difficult task of slowing Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller, but just as they’ve done all season long, the Green Bay defense will bend but they won’t break. Field goals won’t beat Aaron Rodgers and this Packers team.

On offense, I expect a heavy dose of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams to take some pressure off of the Packers’ passing game. And even though the receiving core is beaten up, Aaron Rodgers will be Aaron Rodgers with an incredible throw or two. The Packers win.