The Oakland Raiders pounded the Jets last week in the Black Hole and they are going to try to repeat that feat this Sunday with the New England Patriots paying a visit.  The Patriots lost on the road in a shootout with the Bills last weekend in Buffalo.   Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders are averaging 185.0 yards rushing per game and 5.5 yards per carry, so look for them to come out running the ball on the Patriots.  Darren McFadden and Michael Bush are going to get a ton of carries this weekend as the Raiders will try to control both the ball and the clock.  The Raiders have done a great job of protecting QB Jason Campbell as he has only been sacked 2 times so far this year.  The Patriots are giving up 377.0 yards passing per game this year, so look for the Raiders to open up the offense with deep throws to rookie WR Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford (if he can play).

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots are going to come out of the locker room throwing the football.  The Raiders are going to try to get a solid pass rush on Brady as they already have 10 sacks so far this year.  But, it won’t be easy as Brady has only been sacked 3 times so far this year.  Brady will be getting rid of the ball quickly to Wes Welker and TE Rob Gronkowski in an effort to make the Raiders pay for blitzing them.  Look for Deion Branch and Danny Woodhead to also be more involved in the passing attack than they were last weekend.  The front seven is going to have to handle the Patriots’ running game as the secondary is going to have to worry about the pass first this weekend.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 35, RAIDERS 34

22-year old, rookie 5th round pick Denarius Moore is really stepping up for the Raiders so far this year.  The rookie WR has played in all 3 games for the Raiders so far this year and he has caught 9 passes for 180 yards (20.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 48 yards (24.0 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Moore is the gamebreaking type of WR that Al Davis covets, so he appears to have landed in the right place at the right time.

The Oakland Raiders pushed around the Jets yesterday.  Jason Campbell was back in a game manager mode and he was solid in completing 18 of 27 passes for 156 yards without a TD or a pickoff.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 10 yards (3.3 ypc) in this game.  Darren McFadden carried the offense, as usual, for the Raiders yesterday as he carried the ball 19 times for 171 yards (9.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 3 passes for 7 yards (2.3 avg) in this game.  Michael Bush rushed for 22 yards on 8 carries (2.8 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 35 yards (17.5 avg) in this game.  TE Kevin Boss caught 2 passes for 36 yards (18.0 avg) as he played pretty well yesterday.  Rookie WR Denarius Moore caught 4 passes for 34 yards (8.5 avg) and he also carried the ball 1 time for 23 yards with a TD run.  The Raiders rushed for 234 yards on 32 carries (7.3 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 27 passes (66.7%) for 149 yards as they possessed the ball for 26:46.

The Raiders didn’t play too well yesterday, but they were good enough.  LB Rolando McClain (12 tackles) and safety Tyvon Branch (10 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Raiders’ D last night.  DE Jarvis Moss pitched in with 4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 3 QB hits.  The Jets finished up with 100 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 43 passes (62.8%) for 339 yards in this game.  The Raiders are now 2-1 on the year.

The Raiders are heading back to the Black Hole for the home opener this weekend against the impressive New York Jets.  The Raiders need to come out ready to fight as the Jets are a very physical team, just like they are.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders aren’t going to change for this game.  They are going to feed the ball to Darren McFadden and Michael Bush and then throw deep off of play action to their WRs.  Denarius Moore had a huge game last weekend and he is in for a huge challenge against CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.  That being said, Jason Campbell has only been sacked 1 time this year, so the Jets’ corners are going to have to maintain coverage for a long time this Sunday and they could have breakdowns.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are likely going to try to turn Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson loose on the Raiders, who are giving up 6.7 yards per carry and 127.5 yards rushing per game.  The Raiders need to win the battle against the Jets’ O-Line and RBs with the front seven as the secondary is going to have their hands full.  The Raiders’ safeties are going to have to find a way to take TE Dustin Keller out of the game while also helping the corners over the top against WRs Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress.  The Raiders will need to blitz a lot this weekend on passing downs as Mark Sanchez still makes mistakes with the ball when he has defensive players in his face.

PREDICTION:  JETS 23, RAIDERS 17

29-year old QB Jason Campbell was a game manager in the win over the Broncos in Week #1.  But, head coach Hue Jackson let Campbell loose last weekend against the Bills and he was outstanding.  Campbell has played in both of the Raiders games so far this year and he has completed 36 of 55 passes (65.5%) for 428 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (99.7 QB Rating).  Campbell also has carried the ball 9 times for 5 yards (0.6 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Campbell looks more than capable of doing whatever Coach Jackson needs him to do this year.

The Raiders were up 21-3 at the half yesterday, but they just couldn’t hold on as the Bills scored TDs on all 5 of their possessions in the second half!  You can’t blame the offense for this loss though as they were moving the ball at will against the Bills’ D.  Jason Campbell was outstanding yesterday as he completed 23 of 33 passes for 323 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  His interception came on a 60-yard Hail Mary which he almost completed to Derek Hagan.  Campbell also carried the ball 3 times for 3 yards with 1 TD run in this game.  Darren McFadden played really well again yesterday.  He carried the ball 20 times for 72 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 7 passes for 71 yards (10.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Michael Bush pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 4 carries (5.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  FB Marcel Reese carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards and he also caught 3 passes for 20 yards (6.7 avg) yesterday.  WRs Denarius Moore (5 rec, 146 yards, TD) and Derek Hagan (5 rec, 61 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Raiders yesterday.  The Raiders finished up with 131 yards on 30 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 33 passes (69.7%) for 323 yards as they had possession of the ball for 29:13.

The defense was excellent in the first half and pathetic in the second half for the Raiders in this game.  Ryan Fitzpatrick hit a wide open WR David Nelson for a TD pass with only 14 seconds left which essentially sealed the Raiders’ fate yesterday.  LB Rolando McClain led the way for the Raiders in this game with 10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 3 passes defensed.  Safeties Tyvon Branch (8 tackles) and Matt Giordano (7 tackles) also got a lot of work in yesterday.  The Bills rushed for 217 yards on 25 carries (8.7 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 46 passes (60.9%) for 264 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:47.  The Raiders are now 1-1 on the season.

Not many “experts” would have thought this game would pit two 1-0 teams against each other in Buffalo.  But both teams are coming off impressive victories.  This is going to step up to be a very interesting battle and here’s what the matchups look like:

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders are not going to change for any defense.  They are going to run the ball to set up some deep passes off play action.  The Bills had issues last week with the Chiefs running game as they ran for 108 yards and 6.0 yards per carry.  Darren McFadden’s speed is going to give the Bills’ defense fits this Sunday.  OLBs Shawne Merriman and Chris Kelsay are going to have a hard time setting up a perimeter on the D to deal with McFadden.  Michael Bush will also get in on the action, slamming at the interior of the Bills’ D.  The Raiders’ O-Line did a great job last week as Jason Campbell was only sacked one time last weekend.  The Bills are not a great pass rushing team, so Campbell should have time to throw the ball and have some success.

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills are likely to have a very similar offensive gameplan as the Raiders will.  The front seven is going to have to stop Fred Jackson (112 yards rushing, 5.6 ypc) and that’s not going to easy.  But the Raiders did hold the Broncos to only 38 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.9 ypc) last week, which was impressive.  The Raiders had five sacks last weekend, so they are going to try to get to Ryan Fitzpatrick before he throws the ball.  He threw 4 TD passes last weekend against the Chiefs.  The Raiders are likely going to double team Steve Johnson and dare the Bills to beat them by throwing the ball to someone else.  That means that safeties Michael Huff and Tyvon Branch are going to have to stop Bills’ TE Scott Chandler (5 rec, 63 yards, 2 TDs).

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 20, BILLS 17

35-year old punter Shane Lechler came to the Raiders back in the 5th round of the 2000 NFL Draft.  The Raiders felt that getting Sebastian Janikowski and Lechler in the same draft would really boost the special teams and they were right.  Lechler punted the ball six times for 349 yards (58.2 avg) against the Broncos last Monday Night!  He had 1 touchback and he pinned the Broncos inside their own 20-yard line 1 time.  Lechler has now played in 175 games in his first 12 years in the NFL and he has punted the ball 861 times for 40,778 yards (47.4 avg).  Lechler also has 126 touchbacks (14.6%) and he has pinned the opposing team inside their own 20-yard line 275 times (31.9%) in his career so far.  Lechler is one of the best punters in all of football.

33-year old kicker Sebastian Janikowski was excellent for the Raiders in the season opener against the Broncos last Monday Night.  He connected on all three of his field goal attempts against the Broncos, including a NFL record tying bomb from 63 yards!  Janikowski also nailed both of his extra points as he scored 11 points against the Broncos.  Janikowski has now played in 174 games in his first 12 years with the Raiders and he has made 265 of 336 field goals (78.9%).  He has also made 358 of 361 extra points in his career so far as he has scored 1,153 points for the Raiders.  The Raiders took Janikowski in the first round (#17 overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft.  That was shocking to me at the time, but Janikowski has had a decent career for the Raiders.

The Oakland Raiders did what new head coach Hue Jackson wanted them to do last night as they looked like bullies….and it worked.  Jason Campbell was efficient as a game manager last night as he completed 13 of 22 passes for 105 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 2 yards (0.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Darren McFadden was a beast, as usual against the Broncos, as he carried the ball 22 times for 150 yards (6.8 ypc).  Michael Bush pitched in with 30 yards rushing on 9 carries (3.3 ypc) in this game.  Fullback Marcel Reese didn’t touch the ball much, but he made it count when he got the ball as he carried it 1 time for 11 yards and he caught 3 passes for 23 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Darrius Heyward-Bey led the way in the passing game for the Raiders in this game with 4 grabs for 44 yards (11.0 avg).  The Raiders finished up with 190 yards rushing on 39 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 22 passes (59.1%) for 99 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:25.

The defense was outstanding against the running game of the Broncos and decent against the pass.  Safety Tyvon Branch led the way for the Raiders last night with 6 tackles and a fumble recovery.  DT Richard Seymour was outstanding with 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits.  Safety Matt Giordano (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 interception) and DE Lamarr Houston (2 tackles and 1 fumble recovery) also had solid games.  The Broncos finished up with 38 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 46 passes (52.2%) for 272 yards.  The Raiders are now 1-0 on the season.