Getty Josh Allen & Jon Feliciano of the Buffalo Bills.
The NFL hasn’t done the Las Vegas Raiders any favors as they’ve given them an absolutely brutal schedule to start the season. The team is coming off two tough games against the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots and they’re now going to host the Buffalo Bills, which might be the best team they’ve played yet.
The thing that’s going to make the BIlls matchup even tougher is the fact that they’re going against one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL in Josh Allen. Interestingly enough, Derek Carr and Allen go way back. Former Raiders offensive lineman Jon Feliciano, who used to play with Carr but now protects Allen, posted a picture of the two quarterbacks.
The best part of this picture is that Allen is still shorter than Carr, which is no longer the case. The reason the two men know each other is that they’re both from Central California. Allen is no longer the short, scrawny guy standing next to Carr. He’s now 6’5, has a cannon for an arm and is becoming one of the harder quarterbacks to take down in the NFL.
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Carr Has High Praise for Allen
While Carr and Allen have met, that doesn’t necessarily mean their buddies or anything. The Raiders quarterback gave some insight into their relationship while hitting Allen with some really high praise.
“We don’t text each other all the time or anything like that. I got too many kids running around. But he’s a great person,” Carr said Wednesday. “Everything I know about him, he’s a great person. He’s a heck of a competitor. He’s having a great year, hot start to the season. I’m happy for him, and all those kinds of things. Anytime someone comes from the central valley, there’s a connection no matter what.
“Just from coming from that area, you always keep up with each other, you always root for each other. And so I’ve always rooted for him. Unless he was playing Fresno State or unless he’s playing the Raiders, I always root for the best for him. He’s a heck of a player and I’m really proud of him. To see where he’s come from, he’s worked his tail off to get to where he’s at and he deserves every bit of success.”
Not everybody was sold on Allen being a top-10 pick when he came into the NFL but he’s proving a lot of those people wrong. The Raiders are going to have a tough test on Sunday.
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Can Raiders Slow Allen Down?
The Raiders offense has gotten off to a fast start in 2020 but the same can’t be said for the defense. They’ve struggled against the run and pass. The Bills have been one of the league’s best offenses so Las Vegas is in for a stiff test.
The most important thing the team needs to do is slow down Allen. He’s got a big arm and can also make plays with his feet. The Raiders were able to keep Cam Newton, who plays a similar style, from putting up big numbers but the Patriots running backs feasted on the team. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely the Raiders are going to be the team that is going to slow down Allen. However, the Bills defense hasn’t been great against the run this year. If the Raider offense can get back on track, they’ll have a chance to win.
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