Las Vegas Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 bold predictions in Week 2

Las Vegas Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 bold predictions in Week 2

Raiders defense get at least two interceptions

Interceptions have been a rarity for the Raiders since the 2016 season. Looking back, this has been an issue, as has been getting any turnovers, something that changed against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.  While they did not intercept Lamar Jackson, they did force a few fumbles, which was a good start.

In terms of the interceptions, their luck could be changing, as they got a tremendous pass rush against Baltimore. Jackson is a guy who tries and takes care of the ball, while not taking so many chances, which is the opposite of what Big Ben likes to do.

Ben Rothlisberger can still get the ball off pretty fast, as in Week 1, he was the fastest at releasing the ball, holding on to it for an average of 2.3 seconds before letting it fly.  But Rothlisberger is a gunslinger, and if the Raiders can get the same type of pressure up the gut they were getting with Darius Philon and Quinton Jefferson, and the running game with rookie Najee Harris struggles to get going once again, I believe the Raiders will force at a minimum two bad throws that get picked off.

A surprising bit of this rivalry is that Ben Rothlisberger has really struggled against the Raiders in his career, posting a 2-5 overall record, but is 2-1 at home.

Las Vegas Raiders: Josh Jacobs proves to be a warrior in the Week 1 victory

It would have taken a lot to keep Josh Jacobs from playing in the Las Vegas Raiders win on Monday night, as he proved to be a warrior vs. the Ravens.

Here is one last bold prediction. The Raiders will find a way to win this game and move to 2-0 on the season. As the Monday Night Football game showed, if the defense can make some plays and give the offense extra possessions, Derek Carr makes good things happen.