Oakland Raiders: Ranking 2018 games from least to most difficult
By Kevin Saito
Week 8: Indianapolis Colts (16)
Even with Andrew Luck back under center this season, this is a Colts squad that’s going to struggle. And struggle mightily.
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They’re a team with a lot of question marks along the offensive line and may have trouble keeping Luck upright – and off the injured reserve again. Their running game is very non-descript, with Marlon Mack – who rushed for just 358 yards in his rookie season – leading the charge.
This offseason, they added Ryan Grant to pair with T.Y. Hilton as Luck’s primary receiving options. Though Hilton is a legitimate threat, Grant has never caught more than 45 passes in a season, and hasn’t moved the needle much in terms of production over his four seasons in the league.
Defensively speaking, they’ve added a few pieces here and there – such as Raiders castoff Denico Autry – but, they haven’t done a lot of rebuilding in areas they needed to. It’s hard seeing this Colts defense being any better than they were last season, when they were the thirtieth-ranked team in the league.
All of that being said, Luck and Hilton are legitimate threats – former Colts cornerback Rashaan Melvin is going to have to shut down Hilton – and if they get going, they can take over a game.
It’s going to be up to Oakland to not play down to the level of competition. If they don’t, this should be the “easiest” game on their schedule.
Week 16: Denver Broncos (15)
You never want to think of a divisional game as “easy.” And that certainly won’t be the case when the Broncos travel to Oakland for a week sixteen matchup with the Raiders. In terms of how the schedule plays out though, this could be one of the “easier” games on the slate.
Playing at home will be an advantage for this Raiders team. Also, the fact that many of us are not sold the Case Keenum is actually the guy we saw light it up in Minnesota last season, but is more likely the guy we saw bouncing around the previous six years of his career, where he was, at best, average.
Also Read. A Few Takeaways From 49ers First Two Preseason Games. light
To be sure, Keenum is likely going to be an upgrade over the Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler triumvirate of quarterbacking greatness the Broncos have enjoyed the last few seasons. But, how much of an upgrade remains to be seen.
Add to that, an offensive line that’s been creaky and porous the last few seasons – and doesn’t seem to have gotten much better over the offseason – and this could be a very long day for Keenum and the Broncos offense.