5 reasons Oakland Raiders can upset New England Patriots

The Raiders have two semi-realistic shots to win this game. They can either win the turnover margin or they can win in a shootout. Since the Raiders do not have an interception on the season, maybe let’s choose the latter for the sake of simplicity.

Now that Jared Cook has become a prominent part of the Oakland passing game, the Raiders are getting closer to what they were last year offensively. Though still not there, neither is the New England defense. It has been a bit of an eyesore for Matt Patricia this season up in Foxborough.

While the Patriots have excellent cornerbacks and solid safeties, they are particularly vulnerable in the front-seven. The pass rush is hit and miss. Several front-seven players from last year are either hurt or gone. Rob Ninkovich retired. Chris Long signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Dont’a Hightower is out for the year with injury.

Oakland should be able to throw on this Patriots defense, as most teams have been able to this year. Running the ball on the Patriots will be a tad more challenging, but Oakland has shown it can rush for over 100 yards as a team if Marshawn Lynch gets involved in the ground game early.