Can the Raiders Pull Off Another Upset on the Road?

The Las Vegas Raiders have already pulled off an upset on the road this season against an AFC East opponent. Can they do so again this Sunday?

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws as Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) pressures in the second quarter during an NFL AFC wild-card playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Las Vegas Raiders At Cincinnati Bengals Jan 15 Afc Wild Card Game / Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Cincinnati Bengals started the season 0-4 and lost four of their first five games. The Raiders started the season 2-2 but are currently on a four-game losing streak.

Both teams have played bad football for much of the season, and now get to face off against each other.

Dave Bearman of the Pro Football Network thinks the Raiders will make for an exciting matchup against two of the league's worst teams.

“It’s time we stopped pretending that the Cincinnati Bengals are a good team who have had a tough run in terms of their schedule,” Bearman said. “They are 3-5 and have only beaten teams who are among the worst in the NFL this season. Cincinnati’s schedule to date ranks as the 11th-easiest, and yet, the Bengals are in serious trouble when it comes to reaching the playoffs."

However, Bearman notes that as bad as the Bengals have played this season, the Raiders have arguably played worse. The Silver and Black are statistically worse than the Bengals by nearly every important metric. Bearman believes those statistics speak to what the likely result will be on Sunday.

"The positive is that they get to face another bad team this week, the Las Vegas Raiders,” Bearman said. “The Raiders rank 29th in our PR+, with the Bengals 23rd. However, this spread is right on the borderline of where I want to take Cincinnati this week. Ideally, I’m going to look to tease it down to under three points, where things will feel more comfortable.

"The Bengals’ home game against the Raiders should be a slam dunk. Las Vegas is a bottom-half team both offensively and defensively, so they shouldn’t be able to exploit Cincinnati’s poor defense. This game has the potential to be high-scoring, but trusting the Raiders to do their part to hit the over is risky. The tease with the Bengals is probably the only smart play here."

The Raiders will rightfully be doubted in nearly every game they play for the rest of the season. However, the Silver and Black have proved they can surprise teams, as they did earlier in the season when they beat the Baltimore Ravens on the road. The Raiders have not given much reason to be confident in them moving forward, but they can never be fully counted out until after the game starts and they begin to repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot in various ways.

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