It’s been a long time since the Raiders were in a back and forth shootout. In 2019 alone, the Raiders scored more than 24 points just three times all season and never scored more than 31 points in a single game. Under Jon Gruden, high-scoring games don’t happen very often as the offense typically plays at a slower pace.
However, the matchup between the Raiders and Panthers is setting up to be one of the higher scoring games of Week 1. In a recent piece by ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez, he’s expecting a high-scoring contest in Week 1 with a total of 71 points being scored. Take a look at Gutierrez’s thoughts on this contest in Carolina:
A high-scoring, college football-style shootout is in the offing. Didn’t Rhule just coach in college? “We’ve been watching Baylor, we’ve been watching Temple, we’ve been watching LSU’s offense, we’ve been watching the Saints’ offense,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said, “to get ready for the Carolina offense.” With Christian McCaffrey and Derek Carr, I’m calling for a bunch of points.
With a point total of 47 by BetMGM, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a lot of points scored in this contest. However, expect both sides to run the ball a lot, protecting their defenses. While it would be a lot of fun to see a ton of points, expect each team to score in the low-to-mid 20s and for this to be a ball-control contest in Carolina.
