5 NFL teams poised for breakout years after Week 1
By Randy Gurzi
5. Oakland Raiders
What if all along, it was Jon Gruden playing us? The Oakland Raiders were motivated in the late Monday Night Football game in Week 1 after they were able to put the Antonio Brown saga behind them. The prolific wide receiver came to the team in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers and did nothing but cause problems for the Raiders throughout camp.
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Then ahead of Week 1, the team finally had enough and they gave him his walking papers. Brown posted a video on social media — which is his favorite thing to do — where he was screaming about how he got his freedom. He then landed with the New England Patriots, which we all saw coming.
Oakland can’t worry about that now, but what they can do is try and become a better football team in 2019 — and they used the AB move as motivation in their opening win. The Raiders were underdogs at home against the Denver Broncos and they won in rather convincing fashion. The final score showed just an eight-point win, but they were well in control throughout.
Quarterback Derek Carr looked sharp and Tyrell Williams had no problem filling the shoes Brown never even tried to wear for the team — although, in his defense, his feet were frozen so shoes probably hurt.
What was most impressive though was the defense. They made things miserable for Joe Flacco and had three sacks in the game, two of which came from free agent pick up Benson Mayowa who is in his second stint with the team.
There’s still a lot of football to be played but Oakland set themselves up nicely with a convincing Week 1 victory.