Raiders Week 5 Preview vs. Packers

This Raiders Week 5 preview against the Packers presents a bit more hope in terms of their chances to win on Monday Night Football compared to last week.

The Raiders showed some fight and determination, almost coming back from a 24-7 deficit against the Los Angeles Chargers. They fell short after a ridiculous play that was called by head coach Josh McDaniels led to rookie backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell throwing an interception in the endzone.

Raiders Week 5 Preview vs. Packers

The Raiders sit at 1-3, tied for last place in the AFC West. If that sentence sounds familiar, it’s because last season it was the same old story. With quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo still in concussion protocol but possibly able to clear it by Monday, we don’t know who the quarterback will be. It’s almost exciting, if not for the fact that both Aidan O’Connell turned over the football three times in each of their most recent starts.

The Raiders offense also still hasn’t crossed the 20-point barrier. The defense has surprisingly kept the team in games for the most part. Statistically, the team hasn’t been impressive on either side of the football. But other than Week 2, each of their losses has been by just one score.

The Packers come into this game 2-2, having been dominated by the first-place Detroit Lions on their home turf. The Lions showed the Packers no mercy, and that game has given me hope that maybe the Raiders can pull out a win in primetime. After all, the Raiders used to be the kings of Monday Night Football.

The Packers have a tough, opportunistic defense. On offense, they’re led by quarterback Jordan Love, the replacement for future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. This game is the start of a stretch of 3 potentially very winnable matchups for the Raiders. Let’s get into the Week 5 preview against the Packers.

Matchups to Watch:

Raiders Quarterbacks vs. Turnovers

At the time of this writing, Raiders starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is still in concussion protocol. If he’s not able to clear it, it’ll be rookie Aidan O’Connell under center. Regardless of who’s in charge of the Raiders offense, this is going to be extremely important.

Coming into this Week 5 preview, Jimmy G still leads the NFL in interceptions despite missing last week. Last week, Aidan O’Connell lost two fumbles and threw an interception for three total turnovers. No team in the league is going to win many games when the offense is giving away free gifts to the other team like this.

The Packers have a solid defense with stars like cornerback Jaire Alexander and edge rusher Rashaan Gary. They’re good at forcing turnovers and they’re a better overall defensive unit than what the Raiders faced last week in Los Angeles. If the Raiders are going to win, they’ve got to stop shooting themselves in the foot. Hold onto the ball and stop turning it over 2-3 times per game.

So far the Raiders only have one game this season where they had less than 2 turnovers on offense. Coincidentally, that is the only game thus far that they have won this season.

Malcomn Koonce, Tyree Wilson, and Maxx Crosby vs. Packers OTs

I’m listing all 3 of the Raiders’ primary edge rushers here in this Week 5 preview. I think that the Raiders pass rush did a phenomenal job last week in Los Angeles. For the first time in any of their matchups, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was constantly harassed by the Raiders pass rush. That has to continue this week.

The one thing everybody who saw Detroit vs. Green Bay last week noticed was that Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions’ defense absolutely smothered Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense. They gave him no time to operate, and as a result, Love was wild and ineffective.

Looking at the Week 5 preview, the Raiders must adhere to an old quote from Al Davis. “I believe that within the first 5-10 plays of a game, the other team’s quarterback must go down, and he must go down hard. That alone sets the tempo for the game.” If the Raiders are going to dominate the Packers and defeat them for the first time since 1987, that is what they must do.

Malcomn Koonce has emerged as a solid edge threat on the other side of Crosby. He’s been consistent all year, and last week, he was second on the team in pass rate win %. Maxx Crosby is an all-pro and one of the best players in the league. Rookie Tyree Wilson finally forced quarterback pressure last week, which actually forced Herbert out of the pocket and threw an interception.

For the Raiders to win, they need to put pressure on Love and get him to make bad throws. The Packers’ offensive line has been ravaged by injuries so they’re not at full strength. The Raiders have to take advantage.

Josh McDaniels vs. the 4th Quarter

It was a struggle last season, and it continues to be a struggle this season. So far, the Raiders have lost back-to-back games in which they had chances to win. Against Pittsburgh, head coach Josh McDaniels kicked a red zone field goal when the Raiders needed eight points to tie. This made him the first coach ever to do so.

Against Los Angeles, he made two terrible decisions. He decided to punt instead of having kicker Daniel Carlson attempt a 55-yard field goal(he’s 24-29 from 50+ in his career), which could have reduced the second-half deficit. Then, he decided to trust his rookie quarterback in his first-ever game to throw a potential game-tying touchdown rather than last season’s league-leading rusher.

The Raiders season can’t survive when their head coach is making these kinds of decisions. Looking at this Week 5 preview, the Raiders could very well be tied with the Chiefs in first place of the division if not for Josh McDaniels making these in-game decisions. But the difference between a good coach and a bad coach can oftentimes be the difference between being in the playoffs and sitting on your coach in January.

For this Week 5 preview, the Raiders need coach McDaniels to step it up. Instead of trying to outwit everybody, which hasn’t worked yet, maybe start by making the right decisions. Go with what the conventional move is instead of trying to prove that you’re more of a genius than the other team’s head coach. It cost the Raiders two wins they could’ve had and will continue to cost them wins going forward.

Raider Nation is about as united as it has ever been right now in its vocal dislike for Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. I have been a vocal critic of his as well. The best start to proving everybody wrong is to start by conquering his boogeyman and making the right decisions on Monday Night Football that actually lead to a Raiders win.

Prediction

Looking at this Week 5 preview, I can’t tell you why I’m as optimistic as I am. The Packers have a better defense than the Chargers do. But this week, I think that the Raiders have a shot. It’s a winnable game, and their next few games also look winnable. At least they do on paper, as we all know any team can win on any given Sunday/Monday/Thursday.

The fact that the Raiders have played extremely sloppy but managed to come back and almost defeat Pittsburgh and Los Angeles shows that if they can clean up the mistakes, they can win. But they have to stop going out and committing these avoidable mistakes. For what it’s worth, the Packers have been utterly dominated in the first half of their previous two games against New Orleans and Detroit before having strong second halves.

I think the Las Vegas Raiders finally get it right this week. Maybe it’s due to the fact that they haven’t beaten the Packers since 1987 and have lost eight straight games, but I think they’re due. Looking through the Week 5 preview and reflecting on my thoughts, this game might as well be their Super Bowl. Put it on the calendar and make sure the whole team knows how important it is. If the Raiders lose this game, they aren’t coming back to make a playoff run.

Final Score: Packers 21, Raiders 24.