New England Patriots: 3 Bold predictions for Week 3 vs. Raiders

3. Patriots defense might have to focus on the run

Through two weeks of action, the Patriots defense has continued to be a solid unit, mirroring what we saw out of the team on that side of the ball throughout the 2019 season.

Although Seattle ended up putting up some points in Week 2 in Seattle, New England’s defense has continued to do enough to put the team in a position to come out on top in each of the two games to begin the year. That’s really all you can ask out of a defensive unit.

On Sunday afternoon in Week 3, the Patriots defense will have to shine once again to allow Cam Newton and company the ability to out-score the Raiders to come away with the second win of the 2020 campaign.

One thing that Las Vegas has shown it likes to do offensively is run the ball, which is likely what New England prefers since it did have a bit of a tougher time defending the pass a week ago against the Seahawks.

Through two weeks of action, the Raiders have recorded a total of 66 rushing attempts on the ground, which ranks 10th most in the NFL. Las Vegas has rushed for a total of 249 yards (16th in the NFL) along with four rushing touchdowns (tied for second-most in the league).

On the flip side, the Raiders have thrown the ball 68 times (13th least in the NFL), although that has consisted of four touchdowns through the air, which is near the middle of the league.

In what might be an important early-season game for both New England and Las Vegas on Sunday in Week 3, the Patriots might have to focus mainly on the Raiders’ ground game and keeping that area of their offense in check to be able to come out on top by the end of the contest.