Las Vegas Raiders: Studs and duds from Week 2 vs. Saints

The Las Vegas Raiders opened Allegiant Stadium with a win; studs and duds from the victory.

Looking at the schedule coming into the 2020 NFL season, the Las Vegas Raiders had to feel a bit worried about the inaugural game at Allegiant Stadium. After all, they had to host the Saints on Monday Night Football, a team many have pegged as a Super Bowl contender. Yet, when the dust settled on Monday to cap off Week 2, the Raiders had moved to 2-0 with a 34-24 victory to christen their new home.

Las Vegas fell behind early on Monday night but continued to fight back throughout the night. They picked up a big turnover at the end of the first half that allowed them to score 17 points in the second quarter and tie it up at halftime. With a big second-half push, they pulled ahead for a victory that has many people buzzing about the silver and black.

The Raiders weren’t perfect on Monday and aren’t perfect in any other capacity at either. But at 2-0. There’s plenty of optimism. So with that, let’s look at the Las Vegas Raiders’ studs and duds from the win over New Orleans.

Honorable Mention Las Vegas Raiders Stud: Derek Carr, QB

We know who Derek Carr is at this point — he’s not going to be the player consistently pushing the ball down the field and he’s not going to be a top-five quarterback in the league. But on Monday, he showed what he can be with a solid outing.

For the night, Carr went 28-of-38 for 282 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Sure, he had a fumble but, overall, he was quite good and stepped up when he needed to. For much of the night, the rushing attack was stifled but Carr kept the Raiders in the game, going toe-to-toe with Drew Brees.

In fact, you might say that Carr outdueled Brees on Monday Night Football. For a team looking to take the next step, the Raiders quarterback playing like this is a good start.