The 2-0 Las Vegas Raiders play at the 1-1 New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Here are five keys to victory:
Turnovers:
The Raiders won in Week 2 at the Los Angeles Chargers largely because their defense created turnovers. They had two interceptions and a massive fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. The Saints can play offfense. So creating turnovers would go a long way for the Raiders to pull of a slight upset.
Contain Slough:
Young New Orleans quarterback Tyler Slough has been excellent and clutch. The
Raiders, who have had the highest pressure rate in the NFL through two weeks and who are tied for the league high with eight sacks, must keep Slough from taking over.
Get Jeanty going:
Raiders tailback Ashton Jeanty had a big game in Week 1 with 147 yards from scrimmage. He struggled in Week 2, averaging just 2.3 rushing yards a carry and he had three drops in the passing game. Jeamty and the Raiders’ offensive line must improve to get the ground game going.
More Tucker:
Wide receiver Tre Tucker had five catches for 119 yards against the Chargers, including two catches of ore than 40 yards. Tucker had big-play ability, but he has had trouble consistently putting big games together. The Raiders could use another highly productive game from Tucker.
Stop the run:
The Chargers had 127 yards last week and gashed the Raiders at times, having 49 rushign yards on one series at one point. The Raiders need to clean that up this week.
