8 Predictions About the Las Vegas Raiders' 2020 Season

Week 1: Las Vegas Raiders vs Carolina Panthers

The Las Vegas Raiders season will start against the Carolina Panthers and this is honestly a best-case scenario for Raider nation.

Furthermore, with weapons like Jason Witten, Josh Jacobs, and Nelson Agholor, it's unlikely that Derek Carr struggles to move the ball in the home opener.  The Panthers were also one of the worst-ranked run defenses last year, which means that Jacobs could end up having a field day when the two teams take the field.

Week 2: Raiders vs New Orleans Saints

Like it or not, The New Orleans Saints are going to be a huge test for the Raiders. Not only is this evident by the Saints being ranked 4th in rush defense last year, but also since Drew Brees is not an easy man to defend against in the NFL.

Now, this doesn't mean that Carr can t pull it off and it would be a huge accomplishment if he could, but the doubts are going to start circulating if the Raiders don t win this game.

Week 3: Raiders vs New England Patriots

This is going to be a true test for not only The NEW England Patriots, but also The Las Vegas Raiders. In fact, between this being Cam Newton s first year as Boston s quarterback and Raider nation needing a high-profile win to show they are playoff worthy, this is going to be interesting. Furthermore, it could end up having playoff implications if both teams are as good as their respective fans think they are.

Unfortunately for The Raiders, this is probably going to result in a loss, especially since New England had the number one defense last season, but also since they forced 36 turnovers as well. As if that wasn t daunting enough of a challenge for Derek Carr, New England s defense only gave up about 4000 yards last season, which includes a dominant run defense.

Week 4: Raiders vs Buffalo Bills

This is going to be another one of those true test scenarios where Derek Carr must go out there and have a great day. In fact, he is going to have to call upon every weapon in his arsenal and their defense in order to win this game.

It s probably not the start fans are expecting to the year, but the Raiders are pretty much going to go 2-2 here.

Week 5: Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs

There s no way that the Las Vegas Raiders can defeat the Kansas City Chiefs without divine intervention. Whether that be an inopportune injury to Patrick Mahone or one of his many offensive weapons, that s what it s going to take to win a game like this.

Of course, that now puts The Raiders at 2-3 and struggling to gain any footing in their division, but things kind of start to look up from here. At least in the short term.

Week 6: Raiders vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The addition of Tom Brady is going to do a lot for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive, but it's their defense they should be worried about. In fact, the Buccaneers were ranked 29th overall in defense last year, which means Carr shouldn t have much of a problem carving this defense up and getting some critical scores.

Expect the Raiders to come out with this one and get back to .500 in The AFC West.

Week 7: Raiders vs Cleveland Browns

Whether Raider Nation likes it or not, this game will be pretty much up in the air, but not unwinnable for the Las Vegas Raiders. They just need to put that mixture of good defense, key third-down stops, and an offense that can move the ball to take this victory.  If they can t manage that however and let the Browns somehow dominate them, it s going to come down to whether Carr can dig himself out of a hole or now.

Maybe The Raiders go 4-3  here.

Week 8: Raiders vs Los Angeles Chargers

It s no secret that this game will serve as the second AFC West division matchup on the Raiders schedule, but it is arguably much more important than their game against the Chiefs. Think about it! While the Raiders might not be able to stop the high-powered Kansas City offense and Andy Reid s brilliant play calling, they have proven that they can stop the Los Angeles Chargers if needed.

Expect to see Carr easily throw for a pair of touchdowns and go into the halfway point of the season 5-3.