Raiders vs. Saints odds, expert picks for NFL Week 17 matchup

This section of the NFL schedule is always littered with such games: Two franchises who have lost too much to be relevant but won enough to damage their draft position facing off in the no-man's land between pride and practicality.

The Raiders can’t be blamed for wanting to win, but their Week 16 victory had to have the Vegas front office in tears. Beating the 3-12 Jaguars dropped them from the likely second pick in the draft down to sixth, a crushing blow to their chances of getting the type of franchise-altering quarterback they desperately need. Now they head to New Orleans as coin-flip underdogs against a fellow team stuck in record purgatory.

This section of the NFL schedule is always littered with such games: Two franchises who have lost too much to be relevant but won enough to damage their draft position facing off in the no-man’s land between pride and practicality.

The Raiders have no quarterback, a backfield of former backups and a prospect who is now on the IR after four games, and a receiving corps whose best member is 28 years old and never had a 1,000-yard season.

Their best weapon is rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who proved in his first season he could alter the fortunes of any offense and will do so in Las Vegas as soon as there is some semblance of an offense deserving of fortunes. The Raider defense is in better shape, especially with the coverage unit becoming one of the tougher matchups down the stretch, but could badly use a front-seven playmaker to help all-world defensive end Maxx Crosby and linebacker Robert Spillane.

All this is to say they have a heap of team needs and every incentive to keep their win column right where it is for the sake of their draft fortunes.

The Saints have much better immediate prospects on paper, but their two electric wideouts are question marks, with Rashid Shaheed (knee surgery) out and Chris Olave on IR with the latest and most severe in a string of concussions. Olave is out for Sunday’s game. Quarterback Derek Carr has been hurt several times this season, and star running back Alvin Kamara (out) only has so many miles left on the tires.

New Orleans spent big this offseason but was never in contention after the injuries began. Winning only hurts the Saints’ already middling draft slot, but seven victories sit better than five after all that cash went out the door. After Monday’s drubbing in Green Bay, however, they don’t look like they have the horses to beat even the Raiders at this point.

Luckily for them, and anyone chasing the under, Las Vegas shouldn’t be trying all that hard.

Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints