OAKLAND RAIDERS (+ 6.5 ) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

Sure, it helps when dogs are covering at this year’s ridiculous rate (47-29 ATS), but every so often, the books will put out a line that makes bettors pause and say, “You’re kidding me, right?”

Some call them trap lines, others call them gifts. From my perspective, the Raiders-49ers spread might as well come with a ribbon and a bow attached.

San Francisco, one of three winless teams in the league, opened as a touchdown favorite at home against the always-unpredictable Raiders. Am I missing something here?

I get that the Niners have to be the favorite in this one, but a touchdown… really? Has San Fran shown enough this season to merit that type of respect?

Let’s go over the numbers. San Francisco is 27th in points allowed and 30th in rushing yards per game. That doesn’t sound too good for a team that tries to win games with its defense and ground game. And how about that quarterback play? Alex Smith has been so bad fans are begging for David Carr.

Oakland (+6.5) is my favorite doggie of the week. Here are the others:

Kansas City Chiefs (+4.5) at Houston Texans

The Chiefs let me down last week against Indy but I came away from that game appreciating them even more. That defense is legit. They kept the Colts out of the end zone for the first 50-plus minutes of the game and Peyton Manning didn’t look comfortable throwing into that coverage.

Take away that botched onside kick that turned into a Colts field goal and give the Chiefs three points that coach Todd Haley took away when he decided to go for it on fourth down in the red zone and you’ve got a six-point swing on the final score.
Houston’s offense doesn’t look like the same group that ripped apart the Colts and Redskins in the first two weeks of the season.

Pick: Chiefs

Dallas Cowboys (+1.5) at Minnesota Vikings

We all know the Boys should run the ball more often but Jason Garrett just can’t help himself. When you’ve got a turnover/touchdown machine under center like Tony Romo and a leaky offensive line, you’ve just got to dial up 50 pass plays a game.

Minnesota is a perfect matchup for Garrett and Romo. The Vikings’ secondary is severely banged up and you know Brett Favre will go turnover-for-turnover with any QB in the league.

Pick: Cowboys

Atlanta Falcons (+2.5) at Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have owned Atlanta since Andy Reid came to Philadelphia (7-1 SU, 6-2 ATS). But as the Raiders proved against the Chargers last week, streaks are made to be broken.

Atlanta coach Mike Smith gets his team ready for its road games. The Dirty Birds are 5-1 in their last six away dates and that one loss was in overtime against Pittsburgh.

The Falcons are the toughest team Philly has played so far and I don’t think Reid’s defense will be able to slow down Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and Roddy White.

Pick: Falcons