New England at Las Vegas

Old rivals the Patriots and Raiders head to Mexico City. New England still has ugly defensive numbers in terms of yards allowed, but this defense has improved immensely since getting gouged in September. Coach Bill Belichick simplified things to improve on coverage breakdowns and they've slowly added new wrinkles and responsibilities. All of it has worked, allowing 14, 17, 7, 13 and 16 points the last five games. The coverage breakdowns have been limited and the red zone defense has been great. The Patriots are on a 4-1 run UNDER the total, as well as 9-2 UNDER on natural grass. They take on an Oakland team that has been a big disappointment on offense at #22 in total yards, #27 in rushing with just 87.6 yards per game on the ground. In its last four road games the Raiders have scored 10, 10, 14 and 27 points, and this is their third straight game away from home. Coach Jack Del Rio is 13-4 UNDER the total after having lost five or six out of his last seven games. Road teams like the Patriots with a winning percentage of 75% or better are 25-4 UNDER the total after having won four or five out of their last six contests, when playing a losing team. Back New England and take the UNDER.