The Las Vegas Raiders take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 8, and here are the keys to victory for them inside the Superdome on Sunday.
In Week 8, the Las Vegas Raiders will head to the Bayou to take on the New Orleans Saints inside the Superdome. The Silver and Black won their second game of the season this past weekend, beating the Houston Texans out of the bye week, so they will be looking to keep the good times rolling in this one.
Like the Raiders, the Saints have won only two games this season, and are in last place in one of the worst divisions in football in the NFC South. The Raiders, on the other hand, have been much better than their record would indicate, so hopefully for Raider Nation, the talent shines through against a lesser opponent on Sunday.
Here, we look at some keys to victory for the Las Vegas Raiders entering their Week 8 matchup against the Saints.
Raiders: Keys to victory against the Saints in 2022 Week 8
Hold Alvin Kamara in check
The Saints key on offense is Alvin Kamara, who has over 350 yards rushing this season to go along with nearly 200 yards receiving. Incredibly, he has not found the end zone this season, a statistic that is likely to change against a Raiders defense that has struggled against the run.
While Kamara should have a solid game Sunday, the Raiders need to do everything they can to stop him from having his breakout game of the 2022 campaign. If they can do that, with all the injuries plaguing the Saints, they should be in good shape.
Continue to lean on Josh Jacobs
It has been a special season for Josh Jacobs in 2022, as he went into the year with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after the team declined his fifth-year option. However, since Week 1 it has been clear that he is on a mission this season, and he should thrive against a bad Saints defense in this one.
To date, Jacobs has rushed for 633 yards in six games this season, averaging nearly six yards per carry, and has found the end zone six times on the ground. He scored three of those touchdowns in Week 7 alone, so as we get towards the middle of this schedule, he seems to be peaking.
Take advantage of the Saints missing players
On Friday, it was announced that Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry would both be ruled out of this game, which is big news for a young Raiders secondary. Davis Mills threw for over 300 yards against this defense last weekend, and did so with nobodies at wide receiver, so Landry and Thomas being out is huge.
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Las Vegas needs to take advantage of this, and if they can get pressure on Andy Dalton, he really only has Chris Olave, a rookie, on the outside. Sure, Kamara is going to get his, but those two key wideouts being out could be the difference in how effective the Saints are on offense this Sunday.