At the end of the Las Vegas Raiders Week 2 game against the Arizona Cardinals, one team will be back on track at 1-1, and the other will be in a bad spot at 0-2. Looking ahead to this all-important interdivisional Raiders-Cardinals matchup, let’s make some bold Raiders Week 2 predictions.
The Raiders' Week 1 performance vs. the Los Angeles Chargers was a mixed bad across the board. There was good and bad on both sides of the ball for the Silver and Black, but a solid 4th-quarter comeback couldn’t overcome the team falling to a 24-10 deficit midway through the 3rd.
Derek Carr and company now face a Cardinals team that had struggles of their own in Week 1, getting boat-raced by the Kansas City Chiefs 44-21. That makes both these teams — in two of the strongest divisions in football — desperate for a Week 2 win.
With all that in mind, here are our bold Raiders Week 2 predictions.
4. Darren Waller gets going
Raiders tight end Darren Waller just signed a big new three-year, $51 million extension with $22 million guaranteed. In his first game as a newly rich(er) man, the TE put up a relatively quiet four catches for 79 yards vs. the Chargers.
On the flip side of this Raiders-Cardinals matchup, Arizona struggled to contain their opponent's TE last week. Travis Kelce ran wild through the Cardinals secondary, putting up eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Derek Carr has a lot of weapons with Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, and the Raiders stable of running backs. However, the bold Raiders Week 2 prediction here is that Waller will be the team’s leading pass-catcher and go for over 100 yards.
3. Derek Carr will continue to go down hard
Derek Carr spent a lot of time last Sunday looking up at the SoFi Stadium roof. The Chargers fearsome pass-rush of Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack combined for 4.5 of the team’s 6.0 sacks.
New #Chargers pass-rusher Khalil Mack with a sack of Derek Carr.pic.twitter.com/aot6uqLoTo
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 11, 2022
The Cardinals don’t have the pass-rush that the Chargers do — especially since last season’s team sack leader, Chandler Jones, is now on the Raiders – but the Las Vegas offensive line is not good.
Despite rookie guard Dylan Parham performing well, the rest of the line did not. As Josh McDaniels continues to rotate and experiment to find the right starting five, look for Carr to get another great view of the Allegiant Stadium ceiling. He might not take six sacks Sunday, but he will take a few.
2. The Raiders defensive line will finally get in the box score
While Derek Carr was getting sacked on a fairly regular basis last Sunday, Justin Herbert kept his jersey clean. The Raiders pass-rush didn’t record a single sack on the Chargers QB and only has three QB hits (two from Maxx Crosby and one from Chandler Jones).
This week, that will change, and the Raiders rushers will finally get home a record a few sacks. Yes, Kyler Murray is one of the slipperiest QBs in the NFL, but Crosby and Jones are one of the best DE tandems in the league and just got stymied by an excellent Chargers line.
The bold Raiders Week 2 prediction for the line is that Crosby gets a pair of sacks, and Jones adds one in the Raiders-Cardinals game.
1. Raiders 24, Cardinals 21 in overtime
The Raiders-Cardinals matchup is a contest between two flawed teams. However, the Raiders are the less flawed and more talented squad, so they will come away with the victory in their home opener.
That said, under Derek Carr’s leadership, it seems like nothing is ever smooth and easy, even when the team gets the W. That’s why the final bold Raiders Week 2 prediction is that the game will not only come down to the final drive but the final drive in overtime.
The Raiders played four OT games last season, winning them all. Let’s keep those good times rolling in the Raiders Week 2 matchup with the Cardinals and see some bonus football in the Las Vegas desert.
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