With training camp underway and the preseason fast approaching, Last Word on Pro Football is analyzing the schedules of all 32 NFL teams. Each team’s 16-game slate will be split into its most difficult (1-8) and easiest games (9-16). For this article, the Las Vegas Raiders most difficult games of 2020 will be discussed.
Las Vegas Raiders Most Easiest Games in 2020
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Week 15: vs Los Angeles Chargers
I fully expect the Los Angeles Chargers to finish at the bottom of the AFC West. The coaching staff seems to be intent on allowing journeyman quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, to enter the season as the starter. While I’m sure first-round pick, Justin Herbert, will be starting by this time, I doubt they’ll be playing for anything significant at this point in the season. The Chargers are notorious for having the worst medical staff in the NFL, if not all of sports. By this point in the season, what’s left of their roster shouldn’t be able to come in-between the Raiders’ postseason aspirations.
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Week 9: at Los Angeles Chargers
This will be another home game for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders have an enormously large amount of fan support in Los Angeles, definitely more than the Chargers and even possibly more than the Rams. All the Chargers did by moving to Los Angeles is to ensure that they’ll never have a home game advantage against one of their division rivals.
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Week 1: at Carolina Panthers
Brand new head coach, a new starting quarterback, and a lack of off-season programs due to the virus should all equate to a tremendously slow start for the Carolina Panthers. While they do have amazing weapons on offense, their offensive line is atrocious, and their defense is extremely young and leaves a lot to be desired. While I do believe the Panthers will surprise some people this year, it won’t be until the team has a chance to click further into the season.
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Week 16: vs Miami Dolphins
I fully expect rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to be the starter for the Dolphins by the time they travel to Las Vegas. While I’m a big fan of Brian Flores and the additions the Dolphins made in the off-season, they too have a young and rebuilding team. That young team will have to travel across the country to play a Raiders team that will likely be in the midst of a push for the playoffs. The Dolphins are likely a year out from being able to say that about themselves.
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Week 10: vs Denver Broncos
As I stated in my last article, I’m nowhere near as high on the Denver Broncos as everyone else. That isn’t to say that they aren’t talented, because they definitely are. Pat Shurmur is just way too vanilla of a play-caller and his offenses are way too predictable. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Shurmur ousted by the end of the season.
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Week 12: at Atlanta Falcons
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Dan Quinn was no longer the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons by this point in the season. There were rumors that Quinn was going to be fired during the off-season, but alas here he is. Considering the difficulty of the division they play in, anything short of a hot start to the year will likely result in Quinn being fired mid-season. The Falcons will likely already be looking to next season by the time the Raiders come to town.
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Week 3: at New England Patriots
Despite the dumpster fire the Patriots are rolling into the season with on offense, they still likely have one of the best defenses in the league. Fans of the Raiders are all too familiar with how Derek Carr plays against top-tier defenses and on the east coast. The saving grace here is that the Patriots, even despite the young defense of the Raiders, will be lucky to score more than 21 points, in a game, even once this season. As long as Carr can refrain from throwing the ball away on third and fourth downs, then they should have no problem eventually cracking through that tough secondary of the Patriots.
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Week 14: vs Indianapolis Colts
Insert the final team that I happen to not be as high on as everyone else, the Indianapolis Colts. While the Colts made a good addition in the off-season by trading a first-round pick for DeForest Buckner, I still don’t believe that the interior of the defensive line was their biggest need. What the Colts need, besides a true franchise quarterback, are more dynamic players on offense. The additions of Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor should certainly help, but there’s still something about this offense that just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it’s just because I feel like Philip Rivers is a shot fighter that is already looking towards retirement, who knows. Luckily enough for them, the AFC South appears to be a mixed bag thanks to the ineptitude of Bill O’Brien. The Colts should have no issue competing for the division crown in 2020.
Be sure to check out the most difficult games on the Las Vegas Raiders 2020 schedule.
