As of today, September 8th, 2020, there are four 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.
The Raiders host old friend, Philip Rivers, and the Indianapolis Colts.
Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Predictions: Week Fourteen
The Colts at a Glance
The biggest move that the Indianapolis Colts made this off-season? They went out and got Philip Rivers, who Ryan has written not one, not two, but three, really, really mean articles about him. They also drafted Jonathan Taylor to complement Marlon Mack, and traded for DeForest Buckner on the defensive line.
They’re trying to compete in an AFC South that can’t quite figure out where it’s going.
Declining Quarterbacks
When a quarterback declines, it’s never graceful. Maybe it’s the ability to read the field, maybe it’s the arm strength, and maybe it’s just the inability to recover quickly. Brett Favre went from 4,200 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2009 to 2,500 yards and 11 touchdowns (with 19 interceptions) the year after. The great Peyton Manning went from 4,700 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2014 to 2,200 yards and nine touchdowns (with 17 interceptions) the year after.
Philip Rivers is about the same age those all-time greats were, and he’s already coming off a season where he threw about as many interceptions (20) as touchdowns (23), on a brand new team, with a scheme he doesn’t know, without a single preseason game. Not to mention, the only receiver he has with a career 1,000 yard season is the aging T.Y. Hilton coming off a 500 yard season.
The Prediction
I’ll give the Raiders the win here. Sure, they’ve added some pieces, but there’s nothing the Raiders have loved more lately than playing against Philip Rivers. They’ve won two of the last three against the Colts, and swept the N.C. State product last season thanks to his three picks.
As I said before, the Raiders might not be ready to beat the great teams, but I think they can beat the good ones.
Narcissistic Penguin 
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