How Week 1 Can Answer Raiders' Most Looming Doubts

The Las Vegas Raiders will have their season opener take place on the road against the New England Patriots. In a lot of ways, these teams are similar. Both of them brought in new head coaches with a proven track record of winning in order to improve the culture: Pete Carroll and Mike Vrabel.

Both of these teams have exciting young prospects at running back who project to be major pieces of their offense: Ashton Jeanty and TreVeyon Henderson. Both teams have subpar receiving rooms with stifling defenses.

And yet, there seems to be a consensus among analysts that the Patriots are the clear favorites to win this game. This is confusing to me, as it seems like both of these teams are evenly matched, and I'm not the only one who believes the Raiders can make this game interesting.

Upset Alert

Tyler Sullivan is a sports writer for CBS Sports, and he released an article going over some teams that could pull off an upset in week one. Sullivan admitted he was a fan of what the Patriots have done in the offseason, but even he can admit that the Raiders can make this game hard for them.

"Like New England, the Raiders have improved their roster with a new head coach in Pete Carroll and a new quarterback in Geno Smith. That should raise the floor of the Las Vegas passing game, and could be where it ultimately finds an edge against the Patriots", said Sullivan.

Even though this game is on the road, and it's a long trip for the Raiders, they should not lose their focus on the trip there, and they'll come out sharp to start the season off. This game will set the tone for the rest of the season. I doubt Carroll won't have his players prepared to give it their all.

Missing Piece

"One of the more underrated pieces of New England's summer has been All-Pro corner Christian Gonzalez, who has been missing/limited over the last month due to a hamstring injury. He did not practice Monday, leaving the door wide open for him to miss the opener, thus exposing the Patriots' secondary".

If Christian Gonzalez misses week one, it's a prime opportunity for the Raiders to show off their new and improved passing offense. Expect Jakobi Meyers to have a big game against his former team if their best piece on defense is missing.

"Moreover, Drake Maye enters Week 1 after a shaky preseason. He completed just 58.3% of his passes for 58 yards and a fumble in spot showings in New England's exhibitions. If he's still shaking off rust, that could result in a sluggish performance from the offense".

Evenly Matched

I believe in Drake Maye's talent, but people tend to gloss over the fact that he still doesn't have that much help around him, and he's only seen limited action in the NFL. The Raiders' front seven will be collapsing the pocket as much as they can, making things uncomfortable for Maye.

Overall, I don't understand why the Patriots are so heavily favored over the Raiders when they're evenly matched. I believe the Raiders can come out on top, and if Gonzalez is missing from their starting lineup, their chances of winning skyrocket.

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