The Las Vegas Raiders managed to secure their first win at Allegiant Stadium in spectacular fashion with a thrilling victory over the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. Unfortunately, the celebrations were short-lived thanks to their matchup against the New England Patriots this Sunday on a short week.
The Raiders have gotten off to a promising 2-0 start to the 2020 NFL season following an eventful offseason that saw them finalize their relocation amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Meanwhile, quarterback Derek Carr has followed through on his plans to let his play do the talking coming off a three-touchdown performance versus the Saints.
Las Vegas now faces perhaps its biggest test having to go on the road to play New England. They seem to be well aware that giving a head coach like Bill Belichick an extra day to prepare is not something to overlook.
Carr says the team has quickly moved on to their Week 3 preparation against the Patriots, per Levi Edwards of the team’s official website:
“It’s nice to play against the Saints and get a win,” said Derek Carr. “It feels good. But like I told the guys after the game, job is not done. Be all excited and feel good about ourselves because people are saying nice things now. Going on to the Patriots next week, we can lose. Coach Belichick has a day up on me already and I got to get to studying.”
Meanwhile, head coach Jon Gruden will be given a heavy dose of nostalgia when he returns to Foxborough where the infamous “Tuck Rule” occurred in 2001:
“He did fumble that damn ball,” said Gruden of Tom Brady. “Anytime you walk into a stadium like that it brings back memories and some of the memories are not great, but we’re excited to play. We’re excited to play the Patriots and see what we can get done in a short week. They’re a heck of a team.”
Although it has been nearly two decades since the tuck rule happened, it appears to still be a rather sore topic for Gruden. He will be looking to get some sort of payback by returning home with a win this time around.
The Raiders have good reason to be confident considering how they managed to close out the 24-14 victory over a playoff-caliber team like the Saints. Regardless, things will not be getting any easier given their upcoming four-game stretch that includes the Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
