Raiders Hoping to Establish Home-Field Advantage Early

His sophomore season, the expectations are starting to set, and if he cannot get going early, things might go awry for the former first overall pick. The Bears are looking at this game as an opportunity to steal a win on the road and start building momentum early in the season.

For the Raiders, this comes after their trip to Northwest Stadium, where they take on the former second-overall pick Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders. That's a tough game on the road, and it'll come down to which team's quarterback makes the least amount of mistakes.

It's not out of the realm of possibility for the Raiders to win that game, but they are heavy underdogs, and Daniels and their offense might overwhelm this team. They're looking at this game as a way to get back on track and continue to surpass expectations.

Even if they do manage to beat the Commanders on the road, there's another reason why this game is important for the Raiders to win. Their home opener will be against the Los Angeles Chargers, a divisional rival, and a tough game for them to win, even if they are at home.

Win or lose that game, the Raiders will be trying to establish dominance at home, and this game will be a good test to see if they can. Both of these teams have reasons to win this game other than getting a number raised in the win column, it's up to them to see who wants it more.

Once again, I think what this game will come down to is if Geno Smith can minimize turnovers and win the quarterback duel between him and Williams. Both of these teams can run the ball effectively, but the Bears are going to want to get Williams as involved in their offense as they can.