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4 Reasons the Oakland Raiders can go undefeated in September

By Steve Rivera

OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 24: DeAndre Washington #33 of the Oakland Raiders rushes with the ball against the Indianapolis Colts during their NFL game at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on December 24, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 24: DeAndre Washington #33 of the Oakland Raiders rushes with the ball against the Indianapolis Colts during their NFL game at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on December 24, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MO – JANUARY 12: Andrew Luck #12 of the Indianapolis Colts calls a play in the huddle during the fourth quarter of the AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on January 12, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Week 4: at Colts

In addition to the Chiefs, the Colts will be the next best team the Raiders face in the first quarter of the season. Luck showed last season that he still has the goods, so long as he has some protection.

For Oakland, it’s a second straight road trip and they will be facing a quarterback who can still work it around the field. The equalizer in Week 4 is the Raiders will too.

Indianapolis will be working on what will have been a tough opening month to their schedule. After games against the Chargers, Tennessee Titans and the Atlanta Falcons, there is no telling where the Colts may be. Luck, who is the key to success or failure in 2019, needs to be healthy for Indy to have any shot at a return to the playoffs.

Hey, don’t kid yourself. The Colts should be good this coming season. But let’s not confuse them with the class of the AFC, the New England Patriots. Indianapolis is just one team that Oakland can compete with, especially early on.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 5-round, 10-team projection. dark. Next

The Raiders will be much improved over the 4-12 record they posted in 2018. A year ago, this same schedule in September would have yielded at best a 1-4 or an  0-4 record. Not so this year. The Raiders have a legitimate opportunity to run the table to open the 2019 season.

As I said at the beginning, an undefeated September opens the door to a lot of possibilities. While no one will pick the Oakland Raiders to win the AFC West, they shouldn’t pick them to finish at the bottom either.

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