The Las Vegas Raiders enter Week 13 of the 2021 NFL season still on the bottom of the AFC West, but they remain clearly in the hunt for a division title, with the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Kansas City Chiefs not too far ahead of them.
The Raiders have the Washington Football Team at home this coming Sunday in a game that presents them a chance to win two games in a row and build more momentum for the final stretches of the regular season.
For more insight on the Raiders' Week 13 matchup against Washington, listen below:
With that said, here are four Las Vegas Raiders predictions for Week 13 versus Washington.
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Raiders Week 13 Predictions
4. Derek Carr zooms
Washington has done a good job of taking control of the possession battle lately, which has given them three wins in a row against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina Panthers, and the Seattle Seahawks. However, that kind of approach is difficult to sustain, and at some point, Ron Rivera's team is going to fail with that game plan. That day could come against Derek Carr and the Raiders, whose offense managed to show signs of life again after a stretch in which it looked problematic. The Raiders showed up on Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys in top form. Carr completed 24 of 39 passes for 373 yards and a touchdown with zero interceptions. Despite missing tight end Darren Waller for most of the game, Carr made the Raiders' offense work with just Hunter Renfrow and DeSean Jackson (more on him later) as his primary targets.
Extending possessions on third downs have been a major point of frustration this season for Carr and the Raiders, as they are just 29th in the NFL on third-down conversion rate (34.25%) but it's not like Washington's defense has been impenetrable. In fact, the Football Team are the worst in the league in defensive third-down conversion rate (51.37%), which is a good sign for Las Vegas' attack that is averaging 385.6 total yards per game — sixth overall.
3. DeSean Jackson continues to be the Raiders' deep threat gift that keeps on giving
Jackson's arrival in Las Vegas has done wonders for the team's offense. The veteran wideout asked the Los Angeles Rams to trade him and the team responded by releasing him instead. The Raiders gladly signed Jackson to a one-year deal worth $2 million, and so far, he's been returning that big investment quite nicely. True to his modus operandi, the 35-year-old Jackson showed there is a lot left in his gas tank when he detonated for 102 receiving yards and a touchdown on just three receptions and four targets.
That touchdown went for 56 yards, as Carr found Jackson deep down the field. Jackson has still got it, and it may not show every week, but he's big enough of a threat to keep opposing defenses on its toes, always mindful that he will take off for a huge game-altering play. He's a boom or bust type of player in the world of fantasy football. Fantasy managers shouldn't be shocked if they see Jackson scoring on big play against Washington. For one, the Football Team are 28th in the NFL with 7.4 yards allowed per pass completion. Moreover, Washington's top unit has given up a total of seven pass plays that have gone for at least 40 yards. Conversely, the Raiders have eight pass completions that covered at least 40 yards.
2. The Raiders allow zero sacks
The Raiders only have one game so far this season in which they did not give up a sack. That was in Week 6 when Las Vegas scored a win at home over the Philadelphia Eagles. Since then, the Raiders opponents have racked up eight sacks. Needless to say, pass protection isn't one of Las Vegas' strengths. In the game against the Cowboys in Week 12, Carr was sacked three times for a loss of seven yards. Not allowing a sack in Week 13 against Washington will be significant for the Raiders, considering how relatively poor they are in protecting Carr. Then again, Washington had just lost defensive end Chase Young for the rest of the season, which means the Football Team won't have one of their best pass rushers on the field this coming Sunday.
1. Las Vegas wins and covers the spread
The Raiders are currently favorited by 2.5 points as of this writing. The line hasn't moved pretty much since it opened, but the public seems to be all over Las Vegas, considering that it is playing at home. Then again, Washington's been on a roll, and its momentum coming into this contest is nothing to scoff at. Sure, Washington beat the Seahawks at home, but given Seattle's state, that's not much of an accomplishment. What makes this prediction even bolder is the fact that Las Vegas is just 1-5 against the spread in its last six games as the home favorite.
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