Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Opponent Review: Carolina Panthers

The Las Vegas Raiders era begins on the road with a matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Pitting a returning coach against a new one, here’s our review of the Week 1 contest.

The Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers both kick off respective new eras when they face each other to start the season. For the Silver and Black, they’ll be ushering in a new brand of football under the Las Vegas moniker, while the Panthers will be in year one under a new head coach and a new quarterback under center. It comes as no surprise as to why Carolina is ushering in a new system in 2020.

Last season, the Panthers finished with a 5-11 record, good for the last place in the NFC South, and ranked 31st in the league in terms of points scored against. With Cam Newton’s health hampered by injury, he was officially shut down back on November 5, with Kyle Allen under center in his place.

The lone bright spot was Christian McCaffrey, who was selected to his first Pro Bowl and named First-Team All-Pro after a 2019 season where he rushed for over 1300 yards with 15 touchdowns on the ground.

The last time these two met, it was the 2016 season in which the Raiders came out on top 35-32, thanks to a game-sealing forced fumble from Khalil Mack. If Las Vegas wants to start off the season with a win, they’ll have to assess the new faces on the Carolina roster.