1. Josh Jacobs rushes for over 1000 yards
The jury is out on whether Josh Jacobs will suffer from the dreaded sophomore slump in 2020, but what if he does the exact opposite? In fact, what if the former Alabama alumni can rush for another 1000 yards this season and places in the top-ten in the league this year? Not only would that be game-changing consistency for the Raiders, but it could lead to a playoff spot as well.
In the end, this is going to require Richie Incognito and the rest of the offensive line to create holes for Jacobs to tear through, but that s not an impossible task. Furthermore, the Raiders pulled it off last year and while it didn t result in many touchdowns for the team, Jacobs did average 4.7 yards a carry, which is very impressive in terms of moving the chains.
2. The Raiders defeat Tom Brady and The Buccaneers
While going up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers might not have seemed like a big deal in the past, the addition of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and several other key weapons will make this more of a hurdle for the Las Vegas Raiders. It could even result in a key loss for the team.
With that being said, however, Tampa Bay doesn’t have a very good defense, which should make it easy pickings for Derek Carr and Josh Jacobs. Furthermore, Tom Brady wasn t exactly at his best last season and that could translate into more trouble this year for him as well.
In the end, it might be difficult, and it might come down to the wire, but it is worth noting that the Raiders have everything they need to defeat the Buccaneers. It will just be a matter of how they utilize these weapons.
3. Marcos Mariota gets the starting job at some point
Although Derek Carr has been the starter for the Las Vegas Raider for the last six seasons, that doesn’t mean his job is guaranteed. In fact, many have speculated that Marcos Mariota serving as Carr s backup to start the 2020 season could be the start of a QB battle of epic proportions. The thing is though, Mariota might just end up winning the job.
Now, whether he will be the permanent starter or only serves in a supplementary role until Derek Carr works out the kinks in his game remains to be seen, but he will be a starter at some point. Mariota is just too talented not to start at least a few games this season, and Carr is getting to a level of inconstancy that warrants change at the helm.
Think about it! Is Mariota, a former Heisman winner, really going to be someone that sits on the bench for a long period of time?
4. The Raiders win their division
At this point, you probably think I’m delusional and should be put away in a happy home, but this prediction isn t that far off the mark. For example, the Chiefs were the only team that had a winning record in the AFC West and it s not completely out of the realm of possibilities that they suffer a Super Bowl hangover.
Of course, a Super Bowl hangover isn t set in stone, but the loss of preseason games to prepare and less than stellar conditioning could be a recipe that puts the Raiders and the Chiefs neck-and-neck for the division lead. It could also result in the Raiders pulling off a surprise division win.
5. The Las Vegas Raiders win ten games
It s no secret that the 2020 NFL season is going to be wild, especially with Covid-19, no preseason games and a handful of players opting out of the season, which is why it isn t out of the realm of possibilities that the Raiders can win ten games. Maybe they can even end up winning a few more than that if things get even more chaotic.
Any little thing that happens to another team they face could be the difference between a win and a loss on Sunday.
