JACKSONVILLE – Each week during the 2022 season, Jaguars "experts" – Tony Boselli, Frank Frangie, Jeff Lageman, Brent Martineau, John Oehser, Brian Sexton, J.P. Shadrick and Ashlyn Sullivan – will analyze the following day's Jaguars matchup.
Up this week:
The Las Vegas Raiders at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
Tony Boselli, Jaguars analyst and former Jaguars left tackle
- The Jaguars will win if:They can stop making dumb mistakes and big turnovers at key moments, and get a stop defensively when the game is on the line. Bottom line is the Jaguars are a more complete team than the Raiders, and they need to start not beating themselves.
- The Raiders will win if: They win at the line of scrimmage on defense and limit the production of Etienne. He is the best offensive weapon for the Jags and forcing them to be one-dimensional throwing the ball will give the Raiders a huge advantage.
- As Boselli sees it:This is the week the Jaguars play the entire 60 minutes instead of 55 minutes. The defense will find a way to get a stop late in the fourth quarter to hold on and win, 24-21.
Frank Frangie, Radio Voice of the Jaguars
- The Jaguars will win if: They finish what they start. That seems to be the big thing they need — after taking a lead late, somebody making a winning play late in the game. They must rush the passer better and can't give up big drives late. And they must keep running Etienne, a true star in the making.
- The Raiders will win if: They take advantage of the Jaguars' secondary, which remains without starting cornerback Shaq Griffin. They must stop Etienne and make the Jaguars one-dimensional. Offensively, they must get Adams going. He caught only one pass for three yards last week after having a streak of 81 straight games with multiple catches.
- As Frangie sees it: Both these teams have only won two games. The Raiders, like the Jags, had been in every game until the Saints rolled them 24-0 last week. They are reeling. Whichever team starts well and can regain some confidence first is in great shape here. This feels like another fourth-quarter game.
Jeff Lageman, Jaguars analyst and former Jaguars defensive end
- The Jaguars will win if: They can get back to playing complementary football where the offense is protecting the football and scoring with efficiency – and if the defense is stingy against the run, pressuring offenses into mistakes and making a play when needed at the end of games.
- The Raiders will win if: Jacobs is able to control the tempo of the game, which would allow Carr plenty of comfort in the pocket. Carr, like Lawrence, is coming off a poor outing in New Orleans in which he barely threw for 100 yards in a shutout loss. Adams will be more than ready as well after only having one catch for three yards Sunday.
- As Lageman sees it: This game will have a microscope on Lawrence from many different angles. Players, fans and media will all be watching very closely to see how he responds to one of his worst games as a pro. Etienne and the offensive line are playing very well, providing an environment conducive to a favorable response by Lawrence. This team needs a win in a big way; to get it, key players must make plays at key moments.
Brent Martineau, Action Sports Jax Sports Director
- The Jaguars will win if: They score 27 points or more. I think that's what it will take. The Raiders' defense hasn't been great and their scoreless performance last Sunday was an outlier. It's time for the Jaguars to light up the scoreboard and put everything together on offense.
- The Raiders will win if: They limit Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk's touches and production. The Jaguars got 18 catches from Kirk in the first three games and won twice. In the five-game losing streak, he has 17 total catches. The Raiders should focus on Kirk, especially in the red zone, to limit the Jaguars offensively.
- As Martineau sees it: This has been a weird Jaguars season. The Raiders are just as peculiar to figure out. Las Vegas has a lot of star power and veterans who will find a way to get a win. The Jaguars have been the get-right game for a few teams already this season. Raiders win, 27-23.
John Oehser, jaguars.com senior writer
- The Jaguars will win if: They score touchdowns in the red zone and get a late stop. This season's results tell us this game will be close – and that the Jaguars will move offensively. If they finish drives in the end zone and can stop the Raiders from scoring fourth-quarter touchdowns, they can break this maddening five-game losing streak.
- The Raiders will win if: Their big-play players make big plays. The offensive trio of Adams, Waller and Jacobs is no joke. All three can take over a game. If Jacobs gets going early, and if Adams takes advantage of the matchups that an effective running game can give him, that could be to much for a Jaguars defense that has struggled in recent weeks.
- As Oehser sees it: The Raiders have a lot of matchup advantages and a lot of big-play potential. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence must avoid the very avoidable and costly mistakes that have killed red-zone drives in recent weeks. Here's guessing he will do that and that the Jaguars will win Sunday.
Brian Sexton, jaguars.com senior correspondent
- The Jaguars will win if: They manage the mismatches. Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams is a tough call for any corner in the NFL, especially a young guy such as Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell. Though Campbell did well against Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton last week, he likely will need help against one of the NFL's best. Raiders tight end Darren Waller is another tough matchup: tall, exceptionally long and therefore with an edge on every contested ball. To expect Jaguars rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd to shut him down is too much; same for Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins. Mix in Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and you get the picture. It's a chess match this week and Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell is facing Raiders Head Coach Josh McDaniels, who has a pretty good track record. If Caldwell dials up a good plan, the Jaguars have a chance to break the losing streak, but he must be on his game.
- The Raiders will win if: They can run. The Jaguars can't stack the box to stop Jacobs; Adams and Waller will command too much attention. Jacobs is a home-run hitter by himself; if he is wearing out the front seven, it means the Jaguars must dedicate more bodies to the effort and Las Vegas can take shots to Adams and Waller in one-on-one situations.
- As Sexton sees it: The Jaguars' hole at cornerback will be to the Raiders' advantage. They're coming off a shutout loss in New Orleans, but the NFL is a game of matchups and I see a Las Vegas team with matchups to its advantage with its weaponry. I think the Jaguars' losing streak continues Sunday.
J.P. Shadrick, jaguars.com senior reporter
- The Jaguars will win if: They figure it out in key offensive situations. The Jaguars are ninth in the NFL in total yards because for the most part, things go well between the 20s. Inside the 20 and in goal-to-go situations, it's a different story. The Jags are tied for 24th in the NFL with a 50 percent red-zone efficiency, and they're 22nd in goal-to-go at 65 percent. Those are points you can't get back, and in these one-score games, an extra touchdown or field goal in the second quarter could go a long way.
- The Raiders will win if: Jacobs has an effective day on the ground. That will set up play-action for quarterback Derek Carr and give him options in the passing game. If they hit a big play or two to Adams, then let's see how the Jaguars' secondary adjusts. If the Raiders' defense slows down Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr., then look out for their pass rush led by defensive end Maxx Crosby.
- As Shadrick sees it: We are getting into must-win mode, but let's be honest: We've already been there a couple of weeks and the Jaguars haven't been able to do it in the last five weeks. This is a dangerous Raiders team with a veteran quarterback and playmakers, plus a pass rush that can be a problem if they're up by a couple of scores. With criticism at an all-time high (and rightly so), Lawrence finally responds this week and shows what he can do to give this team a chance.
Ashlyn Sullivan, Jaguars team reporter
- The Jaguars will win if: The "bonehead" plays don't exist. A lot of this will fall on Lawrence. The red-zone interception on first down last week is something that cannot happen again. But bonehead plays also must stop on defense. If the Jaguars do not shoot themselves in the foot, they have a solid shot to win. But I say that every week and they haven't gone without beating themselves in the past five games.
- The Raiders will win if: They use mismatches to their advantage. Adams, Waller and Jacobs are threats even if they did not play like it last week. The Jaguars can't load the box and solely focus on stopping Jacobs; that will expose a secondary that's already struggling. The Jaguars' defense must get creative to limit all three of those Raiders mismatches on Sunday.
- As Sullivan sees it: It's the same question we have been asking the past month. Are the Jaguars going to beat themselves this week? Until I see it, I can't pick them to win after the trend we have seen the past five weeks. But this is the week to do it before you play the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens in the coming weeks.