Raiders prediction: Road trip to Carolina launches inaugural season in Las Vegas
Raiders-Panthers at a glance
Kickoff: 10 a.m. PDT Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina
Fresno TV/radio: KGPE (Ch. 47)/KFIG & KFPT (940 AM & 790 AM)
Line: Raiders by 3
Final score prediction: Raiders 26-24
The matchup
The Raiders have a bunch of young faces across their lineup heading into their first season after the move from Oakland to Las Vegas, notably their first-round draft pick in wide receiver Henry Ruggs III. They added additional pieces in the draft that include cornerback Damon Arnette and wide receiver Bryan Edwards.
Las Vegas hit the free-agent market hard as well, knowing that linebacker had been the weakest position group on the team for many seasons.
Enter Nick Kwiatkoski and Cory Littleton. The Raiders then added Raekwon McMillan in a trade with the Miami Dolphins. Combined, they should leave the linebacker corps much improved.
Overall it is a new-look defense for the Raiders, who also added former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Maliek Collins. He was one of six captains named, along with Kwiatkoski, Rodney Hudson, Derek Carr, Erik Harris and Kyle Wilber.
“Carr’s a strength of ours,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said of the former Fresno State star in his seventh season as the team’s starting quarterback. “He’s had a great camp. I’m excited to see him play.”
Week 1 opens on the East Coast, but don’t ask Gruden if the long road trip and time-zone change are going to be problems.
“Come on, man. We’ve been practicing at 7 a.m. here every day. What do you think?” Gruden said. “We’re ready for one thing. We’re ready for LSU, Baylor, Temple (colleges where the revamped Panthers staff coached previously), we’re ready for everything. We are ready for the time change.
“We’ve been practicing at 7 a.m. So, the clock going off early is not going to bother anybody, I don’t think.”
Gruden said there are two keys: “We got to get better in our goal-to-go offense. We walked away seven times (last season) with nothing.
“And we need more possessions.”
There is a chance of showers in Charlotte, with thunderstorms possible, according to the National Weather Service.
The Panthers have a new quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater, who spent the past two seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
But the offense, obviously, continues to go through star running back Christian McCaffrey.
The Raiders know they have to keep their eyes on him.
Carolina went all defense in the 2020 NFL Draft. But the Raiders will see familiar faces in linebacker Tahir Whitehead and wide receiver Seth Roberts.
This will be Panthers coach Matt Rhule’s first NFL game after he was at Baylor from 2017-2019 and Temple (2013–2016). Offensive coordinator Joe Brady last fall was passing game coordinator at LSU, where he helped lead the Tigers to a national championship.
This story was originally published September 12, 2020 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Raiders prediction: Road trip to Carolina launches inaugural season in Las Vegas."
