Oakland Raiders: First Quarter schedule breakdown and predictions

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams are coming off an impressive first season under HC Sean McVay. Taking over for the decidedly medicore Jeff Fisher regime, McVay transformed a team that had gone 4-12 in 2016, into a team that went 11-5 and won their division.

Quarterback Jared Goff went from looking like a quarterback who shouldn’t been a first-round draft pick (much less first overall) in 2016, to a Pro Bowler and one of the league’s better signal callers in 2017.

Running back Todd Gurley, after a down year in 2016, seemed revitalized in running for more than 1,300 yards, helping lead an offense that ranked dead last that year, to the tenth-ranked unit last season.

It’s a unit that will be bolstered by the addition of a burner like Brandin Cooks – a player whom Raiders fans know all too well.

So, the Rams are going to have an offense that is going to light it up again in 2017, but it’s the defense that is going to help really carry this team.

McVay inherited a defense that ranked ninth-overall in 2016, but dipped to nineteenth-overall last season. It was still a formidable unit, but one that was susceptible against the run, ranking twenty-eighth in yards allowed.

To fix that problem, the Rams went out and picked up Ndamukong Suh, to go along with Aaron Donald, shoring up the middle of that defensive front. They also added Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, and Sam Shields, making an already tough unit to pass against, all the more formidable.

It’s not hyperbole to say the Rams very well may end up having the best defensive unit in the league this season.

Building on the most successful season they’ve had in quite some time, the Rams seem to be going for broke in 2018.

Squaring off against the Rams in the first week of the season is going to be a tough task for this Raiders team. While LA has simply restocked and reloaded, and is simply looking to keep the momentum going from a successful season going, Gruden’s put the Raiders through an extreme makeover, building from the ground up.

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There’s no doubt Gruden is going to have the team prepared and focused. One thing most all of us can agree on is that Gruden runs a tighter ship than Del Rio did, and doesn’t tolerate distraction.

But, in the end, it’s going to take a little time for a cohesiveness to form for this Raiders squad. It’s going to take a minute for all three units to form that winning chemistry. And it’s a little much to think this team is going to be able to take down a team that looks like it’ll be a juggernaut in 2018 in week one.

The Raiders will make some plays and put up a fight, but in the end, the cohesiveness and chemistry the Rams built last season will carry them through to a win.

Rams: 28 Raiders: 17