Week 12 Predictions: Las Vegas Raiders at Atlanta Falcons

Sports Illustrated Raider Maven writer Hikaru Kudo gives his Week 12 predictions between the Raiders (6-4) and Falcons (3-7).

It’s the time of the week for my weekly predictions.

I think the Las Vegas Raiders will defeat the Atlanta Falcons in a back-and-forth offensive affair.

Here’s why:

Two Struggling Defenses

It’s no question that both the Raiders and Falcons have struggled to defend on the field this year.

The Raiders are the 24th defense in the league when it comes to total yards allowed per game. The Falcons are behind the Raiders at No. 29.

When it comes to passing yards allowed, the Raiders are 28th in the league while the Falcons are 31st, beating out only the Seattle Seahawks.

The Falcons lead in rushing defense compared to the Raiders, with Atlanta ranked ninth in the league while the Raiders are ranked 11th.

Two super struggling defenses.

It’s a matter of who comes out top defensively.

Due to these defensive stats, I think it’ll be a back-and-forth offensive affair.

Derek Carr vs. Matt Ryan

I talked about it earlier in the week. It’s the veteran quarterback versus the middle-of-his-career quarterback.

Matt Ryan manages the second-best passing offense in the league, averaging 280.6 yards per game.

Derek Carr manages the 20th best passing offense in the NFL, averaging 235.2 yards per game.

Personally speaking, looking outside of the stats, I think Carr has been having a solid season, producing some of the best passes and offense in his career.

Ryan while can get the ball down the field, he occasionally struggles to finish in the red zone with his squad.

Raiders Win, 34-21

With two weak defenses, I think it will be an offensive fiasco on the field Sunday. The Raiders will manage to pull ahead in the second half and secure a comfortable 34-21 victory in Atlanta.

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