After having their first two weeks at home, the Oakland Raiders hit the road against the Minnesota Vikings in their road game opener. The Raiders beat Denver Broncos on Monday night to open the season but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday 28-10, after leading 10-0. All 28 of the Chiefs points came in the second quarter. Neither team scored a point in the second half.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings come into the game 1-1, they had impressive performance in week one but struggled against Green Bay Packers in week two. This game will give some indication on how good the Raiders could be this season.
The Minnesota Vikings are going to want to to get the ground going. Vikings running back Dalvin Cook leads the NFL in rushing with 265 yards in the first two games. When Cook runs well it opens up many things for the Vikings offense. The Raiders come into the game having not given up 100 yards rushing to either team they played in the first two weeks. Minnesota and Cook will provide a different challenge for the Raiders run defense. We will get a chance to see how good the Raiders run defense is in this game.
The Vikings also have two pretty good receivers on the outside in Stefon Diggs and Adam Theilen. So the Raiders will need to be mindful of the passing game as well. Hopefully, they can stop the run and force Kirk Cousins to beat them; he has struggled so far this year throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Oakland Raiders
Oakland must feature rookie running back Josh Jacobs this week. He has 184 rushing yards so far this season. The Raiders should also incorporate Jacobs in the passing game more, he has good hands and could be a useful weapon in the passing game. Minnesota has a tough defense, and they were together a long time. They did give up 100 yards to Aaron Jones last week. I expect Jacobs to get a lot of carries to start the game and help set the tone for the Raiders.
Quarterback Derek Carr looked good against the Broncos but struggled against the Chiefs. In my film study, I noticed Carr missed some receivers open down the field when he opted for shorter routes. Carr has been in the NFL long enough so that should not be happening. It is time for Carr so show that he is a franchise quarterback and make some plays down the field. The Raiders quarterback has games where you think he is turning the corner, then the next game he comes up with a bad performance. That can't happen any more its time to show and prove. It will need to start in the game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Coach Jon Gruden is great drawing up plays in the first quarter, but as the game goes on, he seems to struggle and does not adjust well. He will need to improve on that also if the Raiders want to win. This is a winnable game for the Raiders, but the offense must play mistake-free football against a tough defense. The defense will need to slow down Davin cook to have success also.
