Raiders face tough task even without Michael Thomas playing Monday

The Las Vegas Raiders face a high-powered offense Monday night, and even without Michael Thomas in the lineup, it is going to be a challenge.

Las Vegas Raiders fans can rest easy, Michael Thomas is likely out for Monday Night Football. The Raiders secondary struggled at times in Week 1, showing their youth against the pair of Robby Anderson and DJ Moore, so the idea of arguably the best receiver in the game not suiting up in primetime hardly brings a tear to the Nation’s eye.

Like most pro sports, though, it’s next man up in the NFL when a superstar goes down, and the Saints still have plenty of fire power to bring with them to Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders will have their hands full for their first ever home game in Vegas, and will need their defense to play ahead of their years if they want to come out victorious.

Outside of Michael Thomas, the next two weapons the offense will run through is most obviously running back Alvin Kamara, and former Raiders tight end Jared Cook. Both men are matchup nightmares, and will now become the focal point for Paul Guenther’s defensive game-plan.

Kamara has yet to amass a 1,000 yard rushing season since joining the Saints, but that matters little, as he is one of the most dynamic players in the game at his position. When it comes to Kamara, you can pretty much just mark him down for at least 81 receptions year in and year out, because that’s the number he has put up every year for the past three seasons.

In 2019, he actually played through injury most the season after hurting his knee in Week 6, and he still managed to reach that bar he set during his rookie year. He is now 100% healthy and will be leaned on heavily if Thomas can’t go.