The Oakland Raiders seem to have finally recovered from years of bad management and even worse drafting. With several strong draft classes and smart free agent moves, the Raiders are fielding a competitive team this year. Sitting at 4-2 on the season, they will next travel to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game they will be heavily favored in.
That matchup is set for Sunday, with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast on television via CBS, with a live stream available online via Sunday Ticket Online.
As for the Jaguars, they are both overperforming (from a general NFL expectation perspective) and underperforming (from a team management expectation perspective). At 2-3 on the season, they’re doing better than some expected, but head coach Gus Bradley has to be feeling the heat from those above him.
Bradley joined the Jaguars as their head coach after success as the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. He was well-respected, and the feeling was he would get plenty of time to turn things around.
But he’s in his fourth year coaching the team and has lost far more games than he’s won. The Jaguars have spent capital on players who haven’t panned out, and quarterback Blake Bortles could be one of them.
Bortles, a first-round pick in 2014, has struggled with his accuracy and has a tendency to turn the ball over. In five games this season, he’s completed 118 of 193 passes for 1,321 yards with eight touchdowns against seven interceptions. He also has two fumbles, and in three seasons has thrown 42 interceptions total.
He hasn’t progressed as the team hoped, and he was brought in after Bradley. If the Jaguars decide they want to go in a different direction with the quarterback next season, they may feel the same way about the head coach and wipe the slate clean.
All they can do at this point is keep trying to win games, and beating the Raiders will be tough. Derek Carr has developed into the franchise quarterback Oakland wanted, and he’s got some excellent weapons to work with on offense, including second-year receiver Amari Cooper.
The Raiders are tied for first place in the AFC West thanks to two consecutive losses from the Denver Broncos. Carr has completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,608 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions this season. Cooper, his top target, has caught 60 passes for 585 yards and a touchdown, while Michael Crabtree has been his reliable red-zone target, with 365 yards and five touchdowns.
Oakland ranks seventh in the league in total yardage on offense, and 11th in the league in scoring offense with 25.3 points per game. The Jaguars, meanwhile, rank fourth in the league in yards allowed, but 21st in the league in points allowed. Opponents score 25.4 points per game against the Jaguars, but the Raiders don’t fare any better in that category, allowing 27.2 points per game on defense.
Below is all you need to watch Sunday’s game.
How to Watch Raiders vs. Jaguars on Sunday
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: EverBank Fied, Jacksonville, Fla.
TV: CBS
Announcers: Greg Gumbel, Trent Green, Jamie Erdahl
Online: Sunday Ticket