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Last year was definitely a wild season for Las Vegas, They had the thing with their coach, a wide receiver went to jail, and yet they still found a way to make it to the playoffs.
That success did not lead to complacency though as they went out to the market to get former New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to be their next head coach. Those off the Belichick coaching tree have not fared that well and he has been flaky in the past, but it looks like a good situation for him and the team.
That is because the Raiders are definitely a team that is set at quarterback with Derek Carr. They also made one of the more surprising moves of the offseason when they traded for former Fresno State teammate in wide receiver Davante Adams to upgrade what was already a very effective passing game. The AFC West is very tough but it looks like the Raiders have enough weapons to compete.
On defense, they made another smart investment in DE/OLB Chandler Jones. Winning requires a team to put pressure on the quarterback and with him and Maxx Crosby, the Raiders now have a strong pass rush duo.
If the Raiders were in any other division they would probably be slated to win 10+ games but in the AFC West, they are going to have a lot of challenging games. Getting to 9 wins is still the market opinion though.
Las Vegas Raiders Win Total
Over 8.5 (-115)
Under 8.5 (-105)
Best Bet: Over 8.5
The Raiders definitely have a tough schedule. In their first 5 games, they play 4 playoff teams from a year ago and that stretch includes three road games, two within the division. Getting off to a good start is going to be a challenge.
After an early bye (week 6) they have a soft spot in the schedule that they are going to have to take advantage of if they are going to get to that nine-win threshold. They are hosting Houston and then visiting New Orleans and Jacksonville. Those are three very winnable games, followed by a visit from the Colts, a team at a very similar level. These are must-win games for sure and they should be favored in all of them.
After that, there are only a couple of easy tilts and they are both on the road (at Seattle and at Pittsburgh). Las Vegas should be favored in both but road games in the second half of the season are never easy. The Raiders also have to make a trip to Los Angeles to take on the Super Bowl champs too.
The simple fact is that the schedule the Raiders have is one that a pretty solid team could easily go 6-11 against. I am on the over because I believe in the direction of the team and that they are better than a year ago when things could have easily fallen apart and they didn’t. Resilience is not to be overlooked.
I am not usually so bullish on first-year coaches but McDaniels should get even more out of that offense and has more to work with on defense than they had last year too. To have a really good season they are going to have to win their fair share of swing games but that is what Carr has always been good at. When they need him late in game he usually delivers. the
I am not betting big but I am bullish on the Raiders this season. I can get behind them being better than a .500 team.
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