What up, Raider Nation?! We are back after that very long bye week! This week on Talking Touchdowns we got the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots on the menu.
Oakland Raiders vs. New England Patriots
First things first, it is going to be a crazy game to attend because it will be in Mexico City at the Estadio Azteca. The atmosphere at the stadium is going to be electric. Fans attending, please take as many pictures and videos and tweet them to @raidersfgsn so we can live through you!
Let’s hope the Raiders will be on their A game against the Patriots, who are 7-2 and just got their 5th straight win against the Broncos. Great for them but guess who we beat and they didn’t? The Chiefs! Yep…But it all honesty, the Raiders have a hard task in front of them.
- Tom Brady has only been sacked 22 times this season. That is why the Raiders need to find a way to get Khalil Mack in his face. Tom Brady needs to be under consistent pressure.
- The Patriots haven’t allowed a quarterback to throw more than 233 yards in a single game over the past three weeks. So this means Derek Carr needs to step it up and dominate in order to pull off this victory.
- The running game is going to be vital to the Raiders success in this game. Jalen Richard will be a key in this game and it may wind up being a career-game opportunity for him if he’s able to establish the running game.
- The Patriots have allowed 1,556 receiving yards to opposing wideouts, which is the third most in the NFL. They have also given up 8 touchdowns on top of that, so Amari Cooper has the chance to dominate.
- The Patriots defense is starting to improve, and with both Malcolm Butler and Stephon Gilmore at the corner position, it is going to be hard to throw against them. That is why the Raiders should use the same game plan as they did against the Chiefs. Derek Carr used an aggressive, vertical attack that shredded the Kansas City’s secondary. With a less pass rush, the Patriots are vulnerable to this strategy and it will open up the running game
Game Prediction
On paper, it sounds like a fairytale for the Raiders to walk into Mexico and stomp New England out. Sooner or later though, the Patriots reign of dominance must come to an end, and why not let it be us who makes that happen? All I have to say is, never say never. I predict that the Raiders will write their own fairytale in this game and beat the Patriots, 27-24!
GOODLUCK, BOYS!!!
[NFL-Raiders-footer]Photo Credits:
- Oakland Raiders on Wikimedia Commons by Oakland Raiders
- Estadio Azteca on Wikimedia Commons by Marvin520
- Kansas City Chiefs on Wikimedia Commons by Kansas City Chiefs
- Tom Brady on flickr by Keith Allison
- Khalil Mack on wikimedia commons by Jeffrey Beall
- Derek Carr on wikimedia commons by Erik Drost
- Amari Cooper on wikimedia commons by Erik Drost
- Malcom Butler on wikimedia by Jeffrey Beall
