Las Vegas Raiders have to prove this is not 2019 again
By Brad Weiss
The 2020 season is looking eerily similar to the 2019 campaign, but the Las Vegas Raiders can change the narrative in Week 13.
The Las Vegas Raiders went into their Week 12 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons sitting at 6-4, a solid record through the first ten games. Atlanta went into the game with a 3-7 record, and in the middle of a season that will bring wholesale changes throughout the organization.
In a game that the Raiders were supposed to dominate, it was Matt Ryan and company who shined, while Derek Carr gave the ball to the Falcons multiple times. He lost three field goals, threw one pick, and really looked uncomfortable from the first drive on.
As the Raiders look towards Week 13, the only team in the NFL that has not won a game awaits them, but that is not comforting after the effort the Silver and Black put in against Atlanta.
6-4 Raiders team dominated in 2019 as well by 3-7 team
In 2019, a 6-4 Raiders team traveled to New Jersey to take on the 3-7 New York Jets. Expected to dominate the Jets, especially after navigating a tough early-season schedule, the Raiders laid an egg, playing a game similar to the one we saw them play inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.
That loss would jumpstart a close to the season that saw the Raiders lose five of six games, missing the playoffs, and seeing Carr get booed out of the Coliseum. The narrative around this year’s team has been that this team is different, and they will certainly have a chance to prove that in what should be a soft schedule to close out the year.
Next. Las Vegas Raiders dominated in blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons. dark
Carr has spent the whole season erasing the narratives that have plagued him during his NFL career, but he took a major step back on Sunday. He has to protect the ball better because if he does not, it will be the sixth time in seven years as the starter for the franchise that the team misses out on the playoffs.