ESPN.com staff: Seven out of nine pick the Patriots
CBS Sports.com staff: Four out of five pick the Patriots.
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News. Patriots 30, Raiders 17. "Bill Belichick is one of the best coaches in NFL history at avoiding consecutive losses. You can bet he'll help clean up all the little mistakes QB Tom Brady and his defense made in the shocking meltdown at Buffalo. Belichick excels at game-planning to take away his opponent's strength, and in this case that?s McFadden. The Raiders will also help the Pats' cause with plenty of mistakes."
Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk.com. Raiders 16, Patriots 13. "A week after a reprise of the Heidi game, Raiders fans get a taste of the Go Tuck Yourself bowl. This time, Oakland has Richard Seymour and an offense that the Patriots may not be able to handle. The home team needs to grind the clock and get after Tom Brady, aggressively. Maybe after this one people will begin to actually notice that we may be in the early days of a Renaissance in Raider Nation."
Gregg Rosenthal, ProFootballTalk.com. Patriots 34, Raiders 30. "What a great matchup. The ultimate pass-first team against the best smashmouth squad in football. Richard Seymour and Oakland?s deep defensive line against his old buddies Logan Mankins and Matt Light. This matchup scares the Patriots because of Darren McFadden. It should scare the Oakland secondary even more. Tom Brady is the right guy to expose the Raiders' depth issues."
Greg Cote, Miami Herald. Patriots 37, Raiders 27. "Game of the Week first-alternate tops the marquee with NFL's No. 1 passer in Pats' Tom Brady and No. 1 rusher in Oaks? Darren McFadden. The latter will get his yards, but I much prefer the likelihood that Brady will fill the sky with fireworks against a Raiders pass defense allowing 290 yards per game. Oakies have won three of past four at home vs. English, but I?ll trump that trend with Pats having scored 30-plus in 11 straight games. Elite teams don?t lose two games in a row. And New England won't."
