Las Vegas Raiders: 3 best Week 1 games in the last decade

2021: Las Vegas Raiders vs Baltimore Ravens

Opening the season with a prime-time game is nothing new for the Raiders so no one was surprised when they drew a week one match up with the Ravens.

While the Raiders were looked at as a middling team that was loaded with young players, the Ravens were expected to be Super Bowl contenders on the back of Lamar Jackson. As such, Las Vegas was in for an early test at home. 

From the start, the Raiders offense looked discombobulated as Carr took sacks, fumbled snaps, and forced the ball to Darren Waller. On the other side, Jackson was as advertised as the Ravens took an early 14-0 lead before Josh Jacobs and Daniel Carlson combined to make it 14-10 at the half.

What members of Raider Nation recognized immediately however, was the defense being called by Gus Bradley was notably more energetic than in years past as they continually got off the field in big situations against one of the league's best quarterbacks. 

Even still, the Raiders offense found themselves down 27-24 with less than 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter after a Justin Tucker field goal. However, the Raiders have a pretty good kicker of their own as Daniel Carlson tied it up with a 55-yarder to send it to overtime. 

Once in the extra period, madness ensued. Initially, it was believed the Raiders had won the game on a walk-off touchdown to Bryan Edwards. Alas, it was revealed his knee touched down at the one-yard line. Not long after, Carr tossed an interception. 

Miraculously, the Las Vegas defense did its job one more time and got the offense the ball back. Looking to put the game to rest, the Raiders exposed the Ravens' all-out blitz by bombing it down the field to a wide-open Zay Jones to walk it off as Carr capped off his 435-yard day with his second touchdown pass.