The Raiders’ season has already swung from bright promise to real uncertainty, and the next three weeks could tell us a lot about what kind of team Klint Kubiak is actually steering. Las Vegas opened 3-0, then dropped three straight to flatten out at .500 heading into a Week 7 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
There’s been some encouraging stuff in the losses. The Raiders pushed the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, the AFC’s top two seeds, to the brink and came up short by a combined six points.
But there’s also the other side of the ledger: three victories over teams that have just two combined wins, plus that ugly 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots. So while the ceiling has shown up, the floor has been hard to ignore.
Now comes a three-game stretch that feels like a fork in the road. The Raiders go on the road twice, visit both coasts, and run into the preseason Super Bowl favorite, the current Super Bowl favorite, and Geno Smith.
Week 7 brings the Rams to Las Vegas, and this is the one that looks winnable. Los Angeles has been dealing with injuries all season, Matthew Stafford hasn’t looked like himself, the operation has felt out of sync, and the special teams have been a mess.
The Raiders have been better at home, and with the Rams short-staffed, Las Vegas has a real shot to cash in. The memory of the Patriots blowout is still fresh, though, so Kubiak and company need to show they’ve learned something from that trip.
Prediction: Raiders win 25-22, moving to 4-3.
Week 8 on the road against the Jets feels trickier than it might first appear, but it still lands in the Raiders’ favor. New York is 2-4, yet the roster has enough talent to make life difficult, even if the Jets keep finding ways not to finish games.
The Raiders also have to shake off the bad taste of what happened the last time they traveled east for an early kickoff. Still, Geno Smith is the kind of quarterback who can hand the game away, and Las Vegas has the better roster and the better coach.
The circumstances make this one tighter than it should be, but the Raiders should still leave with a win. Prediction: Raiders win 34-27, pushing them to 5-3.
Then comes Week 9 at San Francisco, and that’s where the run likely ends. The 49ers are 6-0, the league’s current Super Bowl favorite, and they’ve earned that spot by handling a brutal schedule and beating good teams convincingly along the way.
They’re more talented, more experienced and more connected right now, which makes this the toughest call of the three by a wide margin. Kubiak does know Kyle Shanahan’s system, so Las Vegas shouldn’t be walking into a total mismatch, but this still looks like a Raiders loss.
If they enter the trade deadline at 5-4, though, they’d be in position to buy, with a playoff berth still within reach.
In Other News...
Raiders Defensive Line Shuffle Could Matter More Than Fans Realize
The Raiders Week 7 inactive list brought a quiet but meaningful tweak to the interior of their defense, with the team setting its depth before facing the Rams. Las Vegas also listed Aidan OConnell as the emergency third quarterback, but the bigger roster note was up front, where the defensive tackle rotation will look different than it did a week ago.
Tim Keenan III was elevated from the practice squad and is set for his Raiders debut, a move that adds fresh legs to a group trying to hold up against a Rams offense that has Puka Nacua available. The timing matters for Las Vegas, too, because Thomas Booker IV and Jonah Laulu are inactive, leaving the Raiders to manage the middle of the line with a thinner margin than usual. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Suddenly Have A New Worry About The Rams Passing Game
The Raiders preparation for the Rams just got a little trickier, because Los Angeles is still holding out hope that Puka Nacua will be available for the matchup despite the calf issue that had him on the injury report. Nacua was feeling better Saturday and is now being treated as a game-time decision, which matters even more for a Rams passing game that already lost Davante Adams to a hamstring injury.
For Las Vegas, the concern is less about any one name than what happens if Nacua suits up and becomes the centerpiece of the Rams aerial attack. With Adams unavailable, Los Angeles is leaning harder on the passing game than it otherwise would, and the Raiders will have to plan for the possibility that Nacua is on the field after all. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Have A Real Chance To Exploit One Rams Weakness
The Raiders head into Week 7 with a matchup that could tilt in their favor if they can press a Rams roster dealing with injury issues at wide receiver. Las Vegas has reasons to like this spot, too, especially with its own tight end group looking like a usable part of the passing game and the Rams potentially forced to lean more heavily on their tight ends to keep the offense moving.
For the Raiders, that creates an opening to attack a weakened spot while still leaning into what has been one of their more workable personnel groupings. Michael Mayer and Dylan Laube are both names to watch in that conversation, since the game could push Las Vegas toward more involvement from the tight end position and more opportunity for backfield help in passing situations, even if the exact shape of that usage remains to be seen. [Read more 🡒]