Oakland Raiders: Predicting The Regular Season Win-Loss Record

Week 1: @ Tenessee Titans

Straight out of the gate, the Raiders are going to get a big test. Matched up with a talented Titans offense that’s led by another ascending star in Marcus Mariota. They’ve also got a two-headed beast in the backfield in DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry that’s going to test this Oakland defensive front.

If the Raiders are going to win, they are going to have to keep Murray and Henry from going off. They’re also going to need to put some serious heat on Mariota and keep him from finding a rhythm.

The Titans though, will not have an answer for Carr and Oakland’s aerial attack. Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper should be able to take advantage of a middling Titans’ secondary.

The game is likely going to be a shootout, with the winner being the team who can execute better offensively – since neither squad is exactly dominant on defense. And look for Oakland’s passing game to be the difference maker.

Titans: 28 Raiders: 31  (Record 1-0)

Week 2 New York Jets

In their only home game in the first quarter of the season, the Raiders draw the New York Jets – a team that’s in a rebuild mode. At least, we think that’s what they’re doing. Honestly, we’re not entirely sure what it is they’re doing – other than playing for the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Yes, the Jets have become the Philadelphia 76ers of the football world – though, they deny that contention vehemently.

With a dearth of talent on both sides of the ball, the Jets are going to be overwhelmed by this Raiders team. And Oakland should give the home crowd a thrill as they post what will likely be their easiest victory of the year.

Raiders: 34 Jets: 13 (Record 2-0)

Week 3 @ Washington

After successfully moving from quarterback to wide receiver, former Raider Terrelle Pryor was a great story for the Browns last year. He posted a terrific season catching passes in Cleveland.

And now he’s in Washington, hooking up with a better quarterback than he ever had with the Browns in Kirk Cousins.

As good of a story as Pryor was last season, and as talented as he seems to be as a pass catcher, he alone, can’t make up for what Washington lost in free agency this offseason. Specifically, Pryor can’t make up for the team losing two 1,000 yard receivers in Pierre Garcon and Desean Jackson.

Washington’s passing game was already going to suffer without Garcon and Jackson, but the fact that Pryor and Cousins have been so slow to develop chemistry together – just two receptions on seven targets over the course of the exhibition schedule.

And it’s not like Washington has a dominant running game to ease the burden on Cousins and the passing attack.

Oaakland’s offense should find plenty of holes in a Washington defense that was worse than their own last season – Washington ranked twenty-eighth overall (twenty-fifth against the pass, twenty-fourth against the run). And it’s a defense that didn’t improve a whole lot over the offseason.

The Raiders will win their third straight to open the season in a game not as close as some might expect it to be.

Raiders: 30 Washington: 20 (Record 3-0)

Week 4 @ Denver Broncos

The Raiders close out the first quarter of the season with a date in the Mile High city for a clash with division rival Denver.

The good news for Oakland is that Trevor Siemian is Denver’s starting quarterback. The better news is that Brock Osweiler is his backup. The bad news is that Von Miller is still in a Broncos jersey and is going to be looking to take over the game to mask their offensive shortcomings.

For the Broncos, the offensive struggle is real. They just don’t have much more firepower than they did last year when their unit was ranked twenty-seventh overall – their 20 points per game, ranking twentieth.

And defensively, this group is not going to be the same – Miller’s presence on the field or not. This is a unit that cut safety T.J. Ward, has Shane Ray on the IR, and lost DeMarcus Ware to retirement.

While this defense will likely still be very good, they likely will not be as good as last year’s unit, which ranked fourth in the league overall.

Oakland is going to do enough offensively and defensively to pull out a win over a hated division rival and keep their momentum going.

Raiders: 24 Broncos: 20 (Record 4-0)