Following an incredibly tough road matchup, the Falcons return to Mercedez-Benz Stadium to take on Jon Gruden and the now Las Vegas Raiders. While no win ever comes easy in the NFL, you figure this is one the Falcons have to pull out if they want to make the playoffs. Their final five games are against the Saints, Chargers, Bucs, Chiefs, and Bucs again. Losing to the Raiders before all of that wouldn’t put them in an ideal position to succeed.
Chase Irle’s Prediction
Despite a lot of people expecting the Raiders to be lifeless in 2019 because of the questionable decisions their organization has made since Jon Gruden arrived, they were competitive throughout and in the playoff conversation before losing five out of their last six, finishing the season with the same record as the Falcons (7-9). However, they weren’t a good team on the road, going 2-6, so this is a game the Falcons should be able to take advantage of. Too many times did the Raiders offense look anemic last season, and while I like the direction they are going, they shouldn’t have enough firepower to beat Atlanta. Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense put up more than 30 points, which will be plenty of enough to earn their sixth win of the season.
Falcons 38, Raiders 21
Record (6-5)
Jake Gordon’s Prediction
This is a must-win game. The Raiders will be an improved squad, but their pass defense is still abhorrent with no notable improvements; their WR core and QB are suspect, but their running back Josh Jacobs is a star. He’s Saquon Barkley lite to me, and he has to be accounted for at all times. If they can bottle up Jacobs, Atlanta handles Gruden and company easily and makes it 2 wins vs. the AFC West in 3 tries.
Falcons 38, Raiders 21
Record (7-3-1)
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