The flare of excitement during primetime football spiked in the first half of the 2018 season. That’s been officially extinguished with the matchup of the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football on the horizon.

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The game is set to kickoff at 8:20 p.m. EST on FOX, NFL Network and Amazon Prime, but don’t expect Super Bowl numbers for this matchup. With two potentially taking teams who haven’t produced any semblance of competence, the only gleam of potential is a shootout between two Bay Area rivals, but more importantly, two very poor defenses.

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The Niners have opened as -3.5 favorites, and with their decent array of offensive weapons, that seems about right. Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin is a barrel of gunpowder who can knock the block off of almost any secondary in the league with his blistering speed, and tight end George Kittle is on pace to play in his first Pro Bowl.

Quarterback Derek Carr might be a touchstone in the epic blunder that is the 2018 Raiders season, but he shouldn’t be totally counted out. He’s completed 72 percent of his passes, only behind MVP candidate Drew Brees (74 percent). With not many weapons to choose from, though, he’ll have to rely on relief running back Doug Martin to bolster the running game against the Niners. His other option is tight end Jared Cook, who is fourth among all tight ends in receiving yards with 474. His 74 yards and a score last week from Carr could be a bright spot in a stinker of a matchup for two teams surging towards nowhere.

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Red Young

Article by Red Young

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