The 1-1 Las Vegas Raiders play at the 1-1 Washington Commanders on Sunday. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. PT.
Here are five keys to the game:
Need good Geno:
Geno Smith has had his ups and downs as an NFL quarterback. Wow, have the Las Vegas Raiders seen that in his first two games as the starting quarterback. Smith threw for 366 yards and had nine pass plays of 20-plus yards in a Week 1 win at the New England Patriots. Smith, who the Raiders traded for this offseason, was celebrated after the game as a major difference maker for the Silver and Black. Then, Week 2 came and Smith was a major flop in his home opener. He threw bad interception on the first offensive play of the game and three three interceptions overall and was out of sync and uncomfortable all game. He was 0-12 on passes 10 yards downfield or longer. The Raiders can’t win that way. They need good Geno to show up to the nation’s capital. f=
Chip has to step the tone:
It wasn’t all on Smith in Week 2. New offensive coordinator, who has had more success on the college level, had a rough go in Week 2 after a solid Week 1 showing. He took a while getting star tight end Brock Bowers involved and he was slow to get the running attack going. The Raiders, according to The Associated Press, are running the ball 33.9 percent of the time, the fourth lowest rate in the league. Kelly must come out with a strong, balanced attack at Washington.
Get Jeanty going:
The running attack, of course, begins with getting rookie Ashton Jeanty involved. he had just 11 carries against the Chargers and for the second straight game, had a hard time getting going. The No. 6 overall draft pick isn’t getting great blocking, but he has said he needs to get adjusted to the speed of the game and his pass protection has been suspect. The Raiders invested a lot into him to be a focal point of the offense, that needs to show itself.
Stop the run:
The Raiders’ run defense has been solid in the first two games and it needs to continue this week, especially with questions whether Jayden Daniels or Marcus Mariota will be playing. The Commanders will need to establish the run and with Austin Ekeler out, the focus will be on rookie Bill Croskey-Merritt. This could be a low-scoring a key game, so this will be a key element.
Be better in the red zone:
In recent seasons, it hasn’t mattered who the Raiders quarterback or offensive coordinator was, the team has been dreadful in the red zone and that’s been the case with Smith and Kelly. Las Vegas is 1-7 in the red zone so far this season. Team can’t win much that way.
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