Raiders vs Falcons: Keys to victory

The Las Vegas Raiders will try to improve to 7-4 on Sunday when they visit the Atlanta Falcons.

Let’s look at five keys to victory for the Raiders:

Play smart

The Raiders are a much better team than the 3-7 Falcons ... they should easily win this game, but that means they can’t make silly mistakes and penalties. If the Raiders stay the course, this should be a comfortable Las Vegas win.

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Get to Matt Ryan

The Falcons quarterback was sacked eight times in a loss to the New Orleans Saints last week. We all know the Raiders’ problems getting to the quarterback, but the opportunity is there this week. The Raiders must take advantage.

Don’t let Falcons hang around

The Falcons have at times shown some spunk under interim head coach Raheem Morris. The Raiders need to jump out to a comfortable lead by the third quarter and not let the home team think they have a chance (although we all know how notorious the Falcons are at blowing a fourth-quarter lead!).

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Catch the ball

The Raiders’ receivers had some issues with dropped passes from quarterback Derek Carr in a close loss to Kansas City last week. They need to fix that this week — Carr deserves better.

Play clean on defense

One of the reasons why the Raiders lost to Kansas City was the defense, which was very sloppy. Coach Jon Gruden said he wants to see the defense play with more discipline and composure in key parts of the game. He said on Monday it would be a focal point of the week, so improvement in that area is paramount for this game.