The Oakland Raiders have quickly become one of the more exciting teams in the league — in no small part to the return of Beast Mode — and this week they get the primetime spot. They will make their way to the East Coast to take on a 1-1 Washington team on Sunday Night Football at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC (live stream it on NBCSports.com).
Raiders vs. Washington 2017: Start time, TV schedule for ‘Sunday Night Football’
Beast Mode is back, baby, and Washington will have a hard time stopping him.
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
While Marshawn Lynch was dancing on the sideline in the Raiders win over the Jets, the rest of Oakland’s offense was flying all over the field. Receivers Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper have 258 receiving yards and four touchdowns combined over the past two games. With exceptional talent on the ground and through the air, the Raiders are becoming one of the more loaded offenses in the NFL.
Washington was expected to be a bigger offensive threat this season with Kirk Cousins at the helm and the uber-athletic Terrelle Pryor Sr. downfield. At 6’4, Pryor’s catch radius should be able to correct any errant throws, but he has yet to be the deep threat the team needs — he’s only recorded nine catches for 97 yards thus far.
Both quarterback and receiver are looking for new contracts in 2018, but have yet to prove why they deserve a long-term, big money deal. Keeping Washington’s offense alive is the run game, which totaled 229 yards behind emerging talent Chris Thompson.
Time, TV channel, and streaming info
- Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
- Location: FedEx Field, Maryland
- TV: NBC
- Streaming: NBCSports.com
- Odds: Raiders are favored by 3 points
Raiders vs. Washington news:
- The run game is emerging as Washington’s bread and butter.
- The Raiders offense hasn’t been this exciting for at least seven years.
- Washington still needs to improve on third-down opportunities.
Washington only marginally improved on third down against the Rams. They converted on three of their 11 attempts last week (27 percent) and moved the chains on five of their 13 (38 percent) tries on Sunday.
- Gareon Conley finally made his NFL debut for the Raiders, and it (much like the spot) was good.
Conley “only” played 46 of the defenses 56 snaps (82 percent) most likely due to conditioning from such a long lay off. Expect him to be on the field for every play next week. The Raiders rookie corner looks like he will be the best one on the roster with some more game experience.
Raiders vs. Washington predictions:
More surprising than an Oakland win this week is how the spread was at only three points. The Raiders have a far more complete offense and as long as they can stop Washington’s run game, their defense shouldn’t have a problem either.
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