New Orleans Saints (1-0) at Las Vegas Raiders (1-0)
Monday, September 21, 8:15PM ET
The Saints looked like the team they were billed as heading into the 2020 campaign — a true contender. They knocked off Brady and the Bucs in Week 1, and will look to keep the ball rolling in Week 2 against a Raiders team that’s fresh off its own opening-week win.
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, the celebration isn’t going to last beyond Monday night.
While the Raiders’ first win since their move to Sin City was solid, I’m still not at all convinced they can take down the Saints. They barely held off a Panthers team with far less talent on both sides of the ball. Slowing down Brees, Kamara and the New Orleans offense isn’t going to be as easy. Nor is Derek Carr going to be able to pick apart the Saints secondary like he did the Panthers’.
If anything, look for the Saints to focus on slowing the Josh Jacobs and the Las Vegas run game, daring Carr to air it out. When that happens, they’ll bring the pressure and force Jon Gruden’s guy into a costly mistake or two.
The Saints are one of the top teams to beat in 2020. Meanwhile, the Raiders will likely emerge as a middle-of-the-pack club, at best. We’ll see evidence of both those assertions in Week 2.
Prediction: Saints win 42-25