Raiders vs. Ravens: 3 X-factors that must go Las Vegas’s way in Week 1
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders take on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, and here are three x-factors that must go their way to win Monday night.
On Monday night, the Las Vegas Raiders will welcome the Baltimore Ravens to Allegiant Stadium to close out the Week 1 slate. The Ravens go into the 2021 campaign as one of the favorites to at least make the playoffs, so this is going to be a solid test for the Raiders’ new-look offense.
To pull off the upset, Las Vegas must have these things go their way.
Raiders vs. Ravens: 3 X-factors that must go Las Vegas’s way in Week 1
Raiders must control the ground game
Leading up to this game, we have heard all about the Ravens’ issues at running back, this after losing J.K. Dobbins, Justice Hill, and Gus Edwards for the season. They have tried to remedy that by adding veterans in Latavius Murray and Le’Veon Bell, but that combination will be no match for the duo of Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake in this one.
Jacobs and Drake should be one of the better running back duos in the NFL this season, and to beat Baltimore on Monday night, they have to control this game. Doing so will control the clock, and elongate drives, which is what you need to do against a playmaker like Lamar Jackson.
On Sunday night, Jacobs was downgraded to questionable for the game due to illness, so that is something to keep an eye on heading into kickoff.