Baltimore has won its last five Week 1 games by a combined total of 177-26. Will #6 come Monday night?
WHAT: Week One at Las Vegas Raiders
WHEN: 8:15 p.m. (ET); Monday, September 13
WHERE: Allegiant Stadium; Las Vegas (65,000)
2020 RECORDS: Ravens, 11-5; Raiders, 8-8
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Ravens lead, 8-3, with wins in the last two meetings, in 2017 and 2018. This will be the team’s first meeting in Las Vegas. In Oakland, Baltimore and the Raiders split their four meetings, alternating wins and losses between them. The Raiders haven’t beaten Baltimore since a last-second, 37-33 win in Oakland in 2015 on a touchdown catch by future Raven wideout Seth Roberts.
TV: ESPN; Locally, WMAR-TV, Channel 2 (Steve Levy, Louis Riddick, Brian Griese, booth; Lisa Salters, sidelines)
RADIO: Locally, WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Obafemi Ayanbadejo, booth)
REFEREE: Shawn Smith
About the Raiders
—Entering its second season of existence, Las Vegas’ football franchise is the second major pro sports team to come to the city, following the National Hockey League’s Las Vegas Golden Knights. It is believed that Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association have also considered placing franchises there, whether through expansion or relocation.
–The Raiders’ 62-year saga began in Oakland as an American Football League team when that league debuted in 1960, moving to Los Angeles in 1982 and returning to the East Bay in 1995. The team won the AFL championship in 1967, as well as three Super Bowls (11, 15, 18), and have a total of 22 playoff appearances, tied with Denver for 11th-most in league history and only nine more than Baltimore, a team playing in only its 26th year. The Raiders can claim 17 division titles–the most recent in 2002. The franchise’s .522 win percentage since 1960 is the league’s 14th-best, but the Raiders haven’t made the playoffs at all since 2016, finishing at .500 or worse for four straight seasons.
—The Raiders have appeared in five Super Bowls, but it has been 19 seasons since their last berth–a Super Bowl 37 loss to Tampa Bay in San Diego. The Raiders have advanced to the AFC Championship Game 14 times, losing nine of them. The total of 14 is second-most in conference history (Pittsburgh and New England, 16 each). Two of those games were against Baltimore-based teams. The Raiders lost to the Colts in 1970 in the first-ever post-merger AFC title game at Memorial Stadium, 27-17, and fell to the Ravens in Oakland in 2000, 16-3.
—The Raiders and Baltimore have jointly forged an intriguing head-to-head history. Besides the aforementioned 1970 game, Oakland and the Colts met in a Divisional playoff game at Memorial Stadium on Christmas Eve in 1977, won by the Raiders in double overtime. Oakland returned to that stadium in 1996 as the Ravens’ first-ever regular-season opponent; Baltimore won that day, 19-14. In 2012, it was Oakland that allowed the Ravens’ highest single-game point total in a 55-20 loss at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore broke its franchise record in 2019 by scoring 59 at Miami in Week One.
—For the most part, this year’s Las Vegas schedule is a fair one, with alternating home and road games all the way through November 14. From Thanksgiving through December, however, the Raiders play five road games in a seven-week span, something Baltimore has had to do several times in its history. Body-clock issues are always plaguing the West Coast teams; the Raiders will play four of their 2021 road games at 10 a.m. Pacific time, including their road opener next week in Pittsburgh. The Raiders will travel 21,224 miles to play their schedule, eighth-most in the league (by contrast, Baltimore will travel 12,963 miles, the fifth-fewest).
—The Raiders are usually one of the networks’ most sought-after franchises when it comes to prime-time appearances like Monday’s upcoming game against Baltimore. The Raiders have made 71 Monday-night appearances, including at least one in 44 of the 51 seasons that Monday-night games have been played. Currently, the Raiders are on a streak that has seen them win their last three Monday games and four of their last six.
—No matter which city they have called home, the Raiders have had a below-average record in the season’s opening week, going 29-32 in their team’s history; head coach Jon Gruden is 6-8 lifetime in Week One games. The Raider franchise has never played Baltimore – either the Colts or Ravens – in a regular-season opener or on a Monday night before this week.
—In their history, the Raiders have posted a surprisingly good record against teams currently residing in the AFC North Division, going a combined 49-39 against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Baltimore. The Raiders will travel to Pittsburgh on a short work week to take on the Steelers in Week Two before hosting Cincinnati on November 21 and traveling to Cleveland for a game on December 18 or 19.
—The Raiders home venue, Allegiant Stadium, sits on a 62-acre parcel of land within the Las Vegas city limits. It replaces the team’s aging Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum home, which was opened in 1966, one of the oldest stadiums in the league. It uses two separate playing surfaces: a Bermuda grass natural surface for the Raiders and a FieldTurf synthetic for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. It is one of eight stadiums to have made its debut with a Monday-night game; New Orleans visited there last year. The stadium is located west of Interstate 15; ironically, it is on Russell Road. The Ravens’ home, M&T Bank Stadium, is listed as being on Russell Street in Baltimore.
—In 2020, the Raiders got off to a 6-3 start before a 1-5 stretch in November and December dropped them from the playoff race. The only win in that portion of the schedule came by virtue of a last-second touchdown pass against the hapless New York Jets. The team didn’t seem to have much stamina towards the end of halves, allowing 136 second-quarter points and a mind-blowing 176 in the fourth period. That points directly to why the Raiders suffered three losses in 2020 after having leads with 1:43 to play or less.
—The Raiders had a respectable time-of-possession average in 2020, holding on to the ball for an average of just under 31 minutes per game, but the team’s run-pass balance was way off. The team ran the ball 457 times and passed it on 579 occasions (including 28 sacks allowed).
—Defensively, the team was hampered by a league-high 143 missed tackles. Moreover, the Raiders recorded only 21 sacks on defense, the fourth-fewest in the league (only one player had more than three), and played to a minus-11 turnover ratio, fumbling the ball 24 times (losing 16) and recovering only five fumbles on defense. In fact, Las Vegas forced only 15 turnovers all season, third-least in the NFL, and its offense ended drives with a turnover 14.8 percent of the time, the league’s third-highest rate.
—Usually one of the league leaders in penalties, the Raiders did slightly better on that front in 2020, committing 98 accepted penalties, tied with New Orleans for the eighth-most in the league. The much-maligned offensive line committed only ten false starts and seven holding calls. Still, problems arose in the secondary, which is a unit flagged for 14 defensive holding penalties and 13 instances of pass interference. To that point, defensive back Trayvon Mullen and defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins were the team co-leaders with eight penalties each; Mullen committed four pass interference penalties.
—Jon Gruden is the 22nd head coach in Raiders history, and he is in the fourth season of his second stint with the team, working under a ten-year contract. From 1998-2001, he led Oakland to a pair of AFC West Division titles and had a team that led the NFL in rushing in 2000; he was a mere 34 years old at the time of his hiring. From 2002-2008, he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their first championship (Super Bowl 37 in 2002). Gruden spent a decade away from coaching to pursue a television broadcasting career.
—Gruden has a 5-4 cumulative postseason record and a 114-110 (.509) regular-season mark, but he is a mere 19-29 in his first three years back with the Raiders. Four players who have played under Gruden are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Tim Brown, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, and Jerry Rice. Gruden has coached against the Ravens five times, winning once.
—Notable coaching-staff hires under Gruden include several ex-NFL head coaches, include.…defensive coordinator and former Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley, offensive line coach and ex-Raider head coach Tom Cable, and defensive line coach and ex-Detroit head coach Rod Marinelli, who went 0-16 with the Lions in 2008. Also on the staff is eight-year NFL veteran running back Edgar Bennett, who played for Green Bay and Chicago from 1992-99.
—Last year, the Raiders ranked eighth in total offense (14th rushing, seventh passing, tenth scoring at 27.1 points per game), and while they were sixth-best in the league in converting third downs, they were third-worst in goal-to-go situations. Their 54.2 percent red-zone touchdown rate was the league’s tenth-worst. Las Vegas ranked 25th in total defense (24th vs. rush, 26th vs. pass, 30th scoring, allowing 29.9 points per game). The team was last in allowing fourth-down conversions (82.3 percent) and third-worst in holding back foes on third-down plays, which allowed conversions 48.7 percent of the time.
–-Eighth-year quarterback and three-time Pro Bowl selectee Derek Carr was taken in the second round (36th overall) of the 2014 draft. He has 170 career touchdown passes, the first all-time in Raiders history. He had an NFL-record 18 fourth-quarter comebacks over his first six seasons and currently holds a career completion rate of over 64 percent. He has thrown 71 career interceptions and has compiled a career passer rating of 92.1. Carr has started 110 of a possible 112 career games and has played in all 16 games in each of the last three seasons.
—In 2020, Carr threw for over 4000 yards for a third straight season (career-high 4103). He completed passes at a 67.3 percent pace with 27 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a career-high 101.4 passer rating and was sacked 26 times. Carr has won two of his three career starts against the Ravens, completing 61 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns, one interception, getting sacked four times, and playing to a 100.1 rating. He is backed up by former Tennessee starter Marcus Mariota and ex-Los Angeles Charger backup Nathan Peterman.
—The Raiders’ ground game had been spearheaded in recent years by backs that made their names with other teams, such as Marshawn Lynch and Doug Martin. But in the first round of the 2019 draft (24th overall), the Raiders got their own home-grown product in Josh Jacobs, a 5-foot-10, 220-pounder from Alabama. In his rookie year, Jacobs gained 1150 rushing yards, notching a Pro Bowl alternate berth, and was the first Raider rookie back to ever rush for over 1000 yards. In fact, he is the first Raider back since Marcus Allen to break 1000 in consecutive seasons, and he is the first Raider rookie back to break 1000 in each of his first two seasons.
—In 2020, Jacobs stood out again, gaining 1065 yards and scoring a career-high 12 of the team’s 20 rushing touchdowns, adding 33 receptions as well. Another Alabama back is the backup, six-year NFL veteran Kenyan Drake, who comes to the Raiders after stints in Miami and Arizona. Drake has rushed for 3130 career yards and 27 touchdowns; last year, he set career highs in yards (955) and touchdowns (ten). Carr contributed to the run game last year, getting 39 carries and three scores. The team recently signed discarded ex-Washington back Peyton Barber. Special teamer Jalen Richard is the third back (who is currently on injured reserve), and Alec Ingold, a third-year undrafted free agent from Wisconsin, is the fullback.
—The Raiders have a deep pass-catching corps, led by tight end and former Raven reserve Darren Waller. Last year, he led the team with 107 catches (third-most ever by a tight end in a single season), an 11.2-yard average, and nine touchdowns. Waller has been slowed by an ankle injury in camp that is not believed to be long-term. Listed as outside starters are a pair of 2020 draft picks, first-rounder Henry Ruggs, and third-rounder Bryan Edwards; the pair combined for 37 catches and three scores, but more is expected of them with Nelson Agholor, who scored eight times for the Raiders in 2020, not returning. Ruggs, especially, has been praised for his raw speed but criticized for his route-running.
—In the slot is 2019 fifth-round pick Hunter Renfrow, a Clemson alumnus who caught the national championship-winning touchdown against Alabama in 2018; he had 56 receptions and two scores last year. The backups include ex-Raven slot man Willie Snead and Zay Jones, who caught 14 passes and scored once in 2020.
—The Raiders’ offensive line did a slightly above-average job last year, pacing a steady ground game and allowing only 28 quarterback sacks. It is a mix of youth and experience, with one of the veterans being right guard Denzelle Good, a seventh-year player who hasn’t seen the field much in his time with the Colts and Raiders. At the other guard is well-traveled NFL vet Richie Incognito, a 38-year-old now in his 14th season and recovering from an Achilles problem that limited him to two games in 2020. A pair of first-round picks line up at tackle, with 2018 selectee Kolton Miller (recipient of a lucrative offseason extension) and this year’s top selection, Alex Leatherwood, starting on the right. In his third year from UCLA, Andre James is the center, but he has just one start in two seasons.
—The Raiders’ defensive line has undergone plenty of renovation over the last few seasons. Still, the current unit’s leader is nose tackle and former San Francisco standout Johnathan Hankins, who managed four quarterback hits and 48 tackles from an inside position last season. At the three-technique is former Maryland standout Quinton Jefferson, who has seen time with Seattle, the Los Angeles Rams, and Buffalo before coming to the Raiders this year.
—Third-year defensive end Maxx Crosby, a 2019 fourth-round pick, is coming off a stellar season that saw him pile up 39 tackles, a team-high seven sacks, 14 tackles for losses, and 13 quarterback hits. On the other side is another Maryland product, free-agent pickup Yannick Ngakoue, who managed 11 tackles and three sacks in Baltimore last year. Ngakoue totaled eight sacks between his time with Minnesota and the Ravens, more than any Raider had last year, and he is one of three players with eight or more sacks in each of the last five seasons, the others being Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack. The defensive line has two notable backups: former 2019 first-round pick Clelin Ferrell and ex-Tampa Bay standout Gerald McCoy.
—At the second (linebacker) level, the SAM (strong-side) role is being entrusted to seven-year NFL veteran Denzel Perryman (questionable with an injury), a former San Diego Chargers second-round pick. Ex-Chicago standout Nick Kwiatkoski, who accumulated a team-high 81 tackles and four breakups in 2020, is in the middle. Still, his backup, Nicholas Morrow, was on injured reserve after a big season last year. The WILL (weak-side) linebacker is one of the league’s most underrated linebackers, former Los Angeles Ram Cory Littleton, whose 79 tackles last year tied him for second on the team. Littleton is backed up by a recent acquisition, former Seattle starter KJ Wright, an 11-year veteran, let go in training camp. Wright has three career pass breakups against the Ravens.
—The Raider secondary will cover the middle of the field with a pair of young safeties, 2019 first-round pick Johnathan Abram (co-team-high two INT last year), and 2021 second-round selection Tre’von Moehrig. Abram was tied with Littleton for second on the team with 79 tackles, breaking up six passes. Moehrig was the 43rd overall pick from TCU, where he started as a cornerback before converting to safety and winning first-team All-Big 12 honors, taking the Jim Thorpe Award as a junior.
—The Las Vegas corners are comprised of two returning players and a new face, ten-year NFL veteran Casey Hayward, who comes to the team after being drafted by Green Bay and also seeing time with the Los Angeles Chargers. Trayvon Mullen returns on the other side, coming off a season that saw him break up a team-high 14 passes and record 61 tackles, 54 of them being solo stops. Mullen also had two interceptions, tying him for the team lead. The slot corner is currently listed as a rookie fifth-round pick (167th overall) Nate Hobbs, an Illinois product known for his strong hands and overall physicality.
—The Raiders’ kicking game has finally found stability with its placekicker in fourth-year Auburn product Daniel Carlson, who signed with the team in 2018 as the third kicker the Raiders used that year. He has held the job ever since; last year, he went 33-for-35 on field goals and missed just two of 47 points after touchdown. Carlson’s 144 points tied for the NFL lead. The Raiders may also have a long-term keeper in punter AJ Cole, now in his third year. A rangy, athletic punter at 6-foot-4, 214 pounds, Cole grossed 44.1 yards per punt, netting 40.1, and incurring only two touchbacks in 44 punts, putting 20 of them in the coffin corner. Long snapper Trent Sieg is in his fourth NFL season, all with the Raiders.
—Las Vegas’ return game looked to be manned by the same two specialists that have done most of the work in recent seasons, sixth-year backup running back Jalen Richard (kickoffs) and wideout Hunter Renfrow (punts). Still, Richard is on injured reserve and will be replaced by reserve running back Kenyan Drake. Renfrow returned 23 of 33 punts last season, averaging 11.5 per return, but did not score and did not return any longer than 32 yards. Ruggs also got seven chances at the job, averaging 20.1. The coverage teams allowed over 23 yards per kick return and just under ten per punt runback.
Prediction
The Ravens have shaken off a longtime malaise consisting of predictable, low-scoring offenses, and an inconsistent road form. A win in a spot like this would have been looked at as a surprise in previous years, but not these days. That’s what the Lamar Jackson Era has meant in Baltimore. Besides, Baltimore has won its last five Week One games by a combined total of 177-26. The sixth consecutive win is on the horizon.
