Reasonable expectations for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023 Week 3

The Las Vegas Raiders will try to enjoy their home opener on Sunday night, as they welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers to Allegiant Stadium in primetime. The Raiders are coming off a tough loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 2, and will look to regroup against a franchise who has not beaten them on the road since the mid-1990s.

For the Raiders to beat the Steelers, they must look like a different team than the one who was beaten 38-10 inside Highmark Stadium last weekend. The Raiders looked solid during their Week 1 victory over the Broncos, but Pittsburgh presents a new host of problems for the Silver and Black.

While we do not know which version of the Raiders will come out of the tunnel Sunday night, here are some reasonable expectations for the group in this AFC battle in Sin City.

Reasonable expectations for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023 Week 3

Josh Jacobs gets it going on the ground

It has been a very slow start for Josh Jacobs, as the star running back rushed for -2 yards on nine carries this past Sunday against Buffalo. Sure, the Raiders got down early and had to abandon the run game, but this is a guy who rushed for nearly 1,700 yards last season, the expectations were large for him coming into the season.

Pittsburgh struggles against the run, and without Cameron Heyward in the mix on Sunday night, Jacobs should be able to get it going. In fact, I expect this to be priority No. 1 for Josh McDaniels against the Steelers.

Raiders defense forces multiple turnovers

Kenny Pickett is widely considered a good young quarterback, but he is also someone who is prone to mistakes. The Raiders need to get pressure up front early and often, allowing Maxx Crosby to come off the edge and cause some real damage in the Steelers passing attack.

I would expect Patrick Graham, who should be coaching for his job, to be very opportunistic on Sunday night, which should ignite this Raiders crowd. If the defense puts together another clunker like it did against Buffalo, Graham's will certainly be on the hot seat moving forward.

Las Vegas wins their home opener

It is not too much to ask for the Raiders to take care of business in front of the home crowd on Sunday night against a very beatable Pittsburgh Steelers team. Yes, Mike Tomlin is a genius as head coach, but the Raiders are the more talented team, and have the luxury of getting the Steelers on a short week.

When all is said and done, I like Las Vegas to come away with the victory on Sunday night, moving to 2-1 on the young NFL season.