As of today, September 4th, 2020, there are eight days until the Las Vegas Raiders take on the Carolina Panthers in week one. Here at BroSports, we’re going to release one Raiders game prediction a day until kickoff. We’re going to take a look at how we think the Raiders will match up with each opponent, what we think the score will be, and track those Raiders wins and losses throughout the season.
This week, the Raiders host Drew Lock and the Denver Broncos for the very first time in Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Predictions: Week Ten
The Broncos at a Glance
Vic Fangio didn’t exactly replicate Chicago’s defense last year, but it didn’t help that Von Miller missed as much time as he did either. Denver added Jerry Jeudy and Melvin Gordon to the offense, hoping to help young quarterback Drew Lock in his development, and defensively, the Broncos hope that Jurrell Casey will free up Miller and Bradley Chubb off the edge.
Locked In?
Drew Lock is an interesting young quarterback. He’s started five games for the Denver Broncos, winning four of them. He won a shootout against Deshaun Watson’s Houston Texans and snuffed out any hope these Raiders had of fluking into the playoffs last season. However… it’s not like his numbers are anything to write home about.
As a starter, Lock averaged 204 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and only 6.5 yards per attempt a game. If you inflate that to a full 16 game season, Lock throws for 3,264 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, plus three lost fumbles. That’s worse than Carr’s rookie season on a significantly worse Raiders team.
Even against a porous Raiders defense, Lock didn’t really make an impact, failing to break 200 yards passing. Even Gardner Minshew managed to do that! But with the added value of Jerry Jeudy, plus the development of Noah Fant and Courtland Sutton, his numbers should see a big increase in year two. We’ll see what Lock can do as a bonafide starting quarterback.
The Prediction
Because this game is at home, I give the Raiders the nod. Even in an empty arena, I think the difference between playing in the weather-regulated stadium and being exposed to the weather and altitude of Mile High can shift the outcome of the game. Plus, if the refs had been competent in Denver last year… Who knows? Anyway, Raiders rebound to 5-4 barreling towards Thanksgiving.
Narcissistic Penguin 
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