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Pundits Picks: Ravens vs. Raiders

Sep 13, 2021 at 09:00 AM

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091321-Pundit-Picks

ESPN

Table inside Article
PUNDIT	PROJECTED WINNER	COMMENTARY
Emmanuel Acho
Matt Bowen
Mike Clay
Jeremy Fowler
Domonique Foxworth
Dan Graziano
Rob Ninkovich
Laura Rutledge
Kevin Seifert
Seth Wickersham
Damien Woody

BALTIMORE SUN

Table inside Article
PUNDIT	PROJECTED WINNER	COMMENTARY
Childs Walker		Ravens 31, Raiders 20 “[The Ravens will] move the ball against a lower-tier defense and rely on their still-deep secondary to keep [Derek] Carr and [Darren] Waller in check.This won’t be a laugher like their last two openers, but it won’t be a nail-biter either.”

USA TODAY

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PUNDIT	PROJECTED WINNER	COMMENTARY
Jarrett Bell		Ravens 34, Raiders 30
Nate Davis		Ravens 30, Raiders 27
Jori Epstein		Ravens 28, Raiders 23
Mike Freeman		Ravens 30, Raiders 20
Mike Jones		Ravens 30, Raiders 28
Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz		Ravens 34, Raiders 24
Lorenzo Reyes		Ravens 24, Raiders 21

NFL.com

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PUNDIT	PROJECTED WINNER	COMMENTARY
Gregg Rosenthal		Ravens 21, Raiders 20 “[It] all sets up for a tight, low-scoring game where I still lean Ravens slightly because of their incredible Week 1 history under John Harbaugh, a possible effect of him playing starters plenty in the preseason.”

NFL Network

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Pundit	Projected Winner	Commentary
Adam Rank		Ravens 24, Raiders 21
Colleen Wolfe		Ravens 27, Raiders 26
Marcas Grant		Ravens 28, Raiders 20
Maurice Jones-Drew		Ravens 27, Raiders 21
Daniel Jeremiah		Ravens 28, Raiders 27
Nick Shook		Ravens 30, Raiders 14
Marc Sessler		Ravens 38, Raiders 26
Kevin Patra		Ravens 30, Raiders 23
Grant Gordon		Ravens 24, Raiders 17
Mark Dulgerian		Raiders 26, Ravens 24

SPORTING NEWS

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PUNDIT	PROJECTED WINNER	COMMENTARY
Vinnie Iyer		Ravens 33, Raiders 20 “Derek Carr will feel the heat with the Ravens stopping the run and containing their former feel-good story, Darren Waller. ”

CBS SPORTS

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PUNDIT	PROJECTED WINNER	COMMENTARY
Pete Prisco		Ravens 34, Raiders 27 “The Raiders will play their first regular-season game in their new stadium, which will be buzzing. But they still have issues on defense, even with a new coordinator in Gus Bradley and a new system. That will show up in this one with Lamar Jackson getting off to a fast start.”
Jason La Canfora
Will Brinson		Raiders 24, Ravens 21 “Baltimore's record in Week 1 games with Lamar is terrifying for sure, but I think Jon Gruden will cook up a lot here on offense, Derek Carr will play surprisingly well and Las Vegas pulls off a stunner on MNF.”
Jared Dubin
Ryan Wilson
John Breech		Raiders 34, Ravens 31 “Although the Raiders defense isn't talented enough to completely stop Jackson, I do think Derek Carr and the offense will provide enough points to outscore a hobbled Ravens offense.”
Dave Richard
Jamey Eisenberg

PRO FOOTBALL TALK

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PUNDIT	PROJECTED WINNER	COMMENTARY
Michael David Smith		Ravens 34, Raiders 17 ”If Jon Gruden is doing his job right, this is a year when the Raiders should be peaking. I’m skeptical. I see the Ravens showing on Monday night that there’s a big gap between the Raiders and the best teams in the AFC.”
Mike Florio		Ravens 24, Raiders 16 “It’s easy to be optimistic when everyone is 0-0. The Raiders will learn in prime time that their optimism for 2021 is a little misplaced, given the quality of the best teams in the AFC.”
Chris Simms		Ravens 34, Raiders 27 “Lamar has grown as a passer every year. I think we’ll continue to see that growth. And the Raiders just have too many question marks.”

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

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PUNDIT	PROJECTED WINNER	COMMENTARY
Albert Breer
Connor Orr
Gary Gramling
Jenny Vrentas
Mitch Goldich

FANSIDED

Table inside Article
PUNDIT	PROJECTED WINNER	COMMENTARY
Matt Verderame		Ravens 38, Raiders 28 “The Raiders finally get to welcome fans into the Death Star known as Allegiant Stadium. Is the emotion enough to spring an upset on the injury-riddled Ravens? Probably not. Lamar Jackson will do unspeakable things to Las Vegas’ defense.”

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