GREEN BAY (2-2) at LAS VEGAS (1-3)
DAY / TIME / TV: Monday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, ESPN
SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 8-5.
LAST MEETING: Packers beat Raiders 42-24 on Oct. 20, 2019, in Green Bay.
LAST WEEK: Packers lost to Lions 34-20; Raiders lost to Chargers 24-17.
PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (27), RUSH (30), PASS (19), SCORING (T-10).
PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (T-21), RUSH (30), PASS (11), SCORING (20).
RAIDERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (26), RUSH (32), PASS (15), SCORING (T-25).
RAIDERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (18), RUSH (26), PASS (13), SCORING (24).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Packers plus-1; Raiders minus-9.
Green Bay has had extra time to think about its 34-20 loss to Detroit, a Thursday night game that gave the Packers last weekend off. The Packers, who are 2-2, certainly don't want to spend extra time stewing over another defeat should they lose Monday night at Las Vegas. But that's exactly what will happen if the Raiders properly defend their home field. This is the Packers' only game in a 23-day span. “I take every game personally,” Green Bay cornerback Rasul Douglas said. “I don’t like losing at anything. If there’s a way I can win, I’m going to win. So I just hate losing, and then I hate just not being myself and what I mean to the defense. I hate being that person.”
The feeling isn't all that different in the opposing locker room. Las Vegas is off to a 1-3 start, having lost three games in a row after opening with a 17-16 victory at Denver. If the Raiders win, they have a stretch of games that includes New England, Chicago and both New York teams where they have a shot of success. If the Raiders lose, then memories of last season's 6-11 record truly begin to hang over this team. “I don't want to come here and (expletive) lose, I want to win," Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “It's as simple as that. There are no excuses. We've got to do it. The players have got to do it, the coaches. Everybody has got to look at themselves in the mirror and figure out how to get better.”
CARLSON VS. CARLSON
Packers rookie kicker Anders Carlson is the younger brother of Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson, a 2022 All-Pro selection. Anders said about 27 family members will be heading to Las Vegas to watch this sibling rivalry. That group includes the Carlsons’ oldest brother, Nils, who will travel from Sweden. Which team’s colors they’ll be wearing remains uncertain. “Hopefully, my wife’s in Packers gear,” Anders said. “We’ll see about that. She should be. My parents definitely are going to have to split colors. I don’t know what they’re going to do. They’ll figure that out. But super excited to see them gameday.” Anders acknowledged he wouldn’t be rooting against his brother even while playing on the other team. “I hope he makes every kick,” Anders said. “I just hope we win by a lot of touchdowns.”
RUNNING IN PLACE
Both the Packers and Raiders have struggled to run the ball, even though both teams feature an accomplished running back. Josh Jacobs, the NFL’s rushing leader last season, has run for only 166 yards while gaining just 2.7 yards per carry. The Raiders found other ways to use him Sunday against the Chargers. Jacobs caught eight passes for 81 yards to go with his 58 yards on the ground. “I tell the quarterbacks all the time, ‘I’m always open,'” Jacobs said. “It helps you get in the rhythm of the game.” As a team, the Raiders are last in the league in yards rushing per game (65.3) and 31st in yards per carry (3.0). The Packers haven’t been much better. They’re 30th in yards rushing per game (74.5) and 29th in yards per carry (3.3). Aaron Jones missed two games with a hamstring injury and had just five carries when he returned to action in the Packers loss to Detroit on Sept. 28. “I’m feeling good," Jones said. “Just still taking it day by day. The hamstring, it can linger so don’t want any of that. That’s why they’ve been so cautious.”
SLOW-STARTING PACKERS
The Packers have been outscored 44-3 in the first half of their last two games. They erased a 17-0 halftime deficit by scoring 18 points in the final 11 minutes of an 18-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints. They couldn’t come all the way back after falling behind 27-3 in the first 30 minutes of the loss to the Lions. “I think we’ve just got to get into a rhythm faster ... just finding completions early, get the ball moving and kind of just getting ourselves out of maybe the third-and-long situations we put ourselves in, cleaning up penalties, just all the pre-snap things that is hurting ourselves,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said. “So I think once we get that, get that rhythm going again, we’ll be good.”
BOOKEND RAIDERS
Las Vegas has a slightly different issue. The Raiders have outscored opponents 53-40 in the first and fourth quarters, but have been outscored 61-9 in the middle two periods. Those mid-game struggles forced the Raiders to play catch-up the past two games. They had to rally against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers, only to come one drive away from at least tying the game in the final minutes. “I don’t think we lack urgency, or it’s not like we need a ‘Win one for the Gipper’ speech out there in the middle of the game” Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels said. "I know that the play might not have necessarily reflected the effort that we were trying to play with in terms of our overall production. “But I think you can see in the second half of both of the last two games. Everybody’s trying to do everything they can to fight, and it’s not like they’re not doing that in the second quarter or the third quarter.”
PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH
RB Aaron Jones. After missing two games with a hamstring injury, Jones returned Sept. 28 but had just five carries for 18 yards as the Packers wanted to work him back gradually. Since the Packers played a Thursday night game last week, the extra time between games should allow Jones to be closer to full strength for this matchup. Jones had a touchdown run and a touchdown catch in a season-opening 38-20 victory at Chicago, and the Packers desperately need him to boost a running game that is gaining just 3.3 yards per carry.
RAIDERS PLAYER TO WATCH
RT Jermaine Eluemunor. He needs a bounce-back game after giving up half of Khalil Mack’s six sacks in Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Eluemunor has allowed five sacks this season, according to Pro Football Focus. He had to hold off Thayer Munford for the starting position in training camp, so another tough game could prompt the coaches to make a change.
KEY MATCHUP
Raiders WR Davante Adams vs. Packers CBs. Provided he’s healthy, Adams would love to put up great numbers against his former team, and he enters this game on a roll with 33 catches for 397 yards and three touchdowns. If Green Bay’s Jaire Alexander is healthy — he missed the past two games with a back injury — he should be quite a challenge for Adams. Alexander, who returned to practice Tuesday, wouldn’t be the only one defending Adams, but it likely would be the most dynamic matchup.
INJURIES
FRIDAY: GREEN BAY PACKERS at LAS VEGAS RAIDERS — GREEN BAY: DNP: S Zayne Anderson (hamstring), OLB De’Vondre Campbell (ankle). LIMITED: CB Jaire Alexander (back), FS Rudy Ford (oblique), G Elgton Jenkins (knee), RB Aaron Jones (hamstring), G Jon Runyan (groin/ankle), CB Eric Stokes (foot), OT Zach Tom (knee), WR Christian Watson (hamstring). FULL: TE Luke Musgrave (concussion), DB Carrington Valentine (biceps). LAS VEGAS: DNP: WR Davante Adams (shoulder), CB Nate Hobbs (ankle). LIMITED: CB Jakorian Bennett (hamstring/shoulder), DE Maxx Crosby (knee), DE Malcolm Koonce (groin), CB David Long (ankle). FULL: QB Jimmy Garoppolo (concussion).
SERIES NOTES
Green Bay has won the past eight meetings… The Raiders’ most recent victory against the Packers was a 20-0 win on Sept. 13, 1987, in Green Bay. That is the only shutout in this series… This is the teams’ first meeting in Las Vegas.
STATS AND STUFF
Packers QB Jordan Love has completed just 56.1% of his passes, but he has nine completions of 30-plus yards to match Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins for the NFL lead in that category… Packers K Anders Carlson, the younger brother of Raiders K Daniel Carlson, is 5 of 5 on field goals and 9 of 9 on extra points. Two of the rookie’s field goals are from at least 50 yards… The Packers have won their past six “Monday Night Football” games, the longest such streak in team history… The Packers have been outscored 44-3 in the first half of their past two games. They rallied from a 17-0 deficit to beat New Orleans 18-17 and trailed 27-3 at halftime in their 34-20 loss to Detroit… Packers WR Romeo Doubs had nine catches for 95 yards — both career highs — in the loss to the Lions… Packers LB Quay Walker had 19 tackles against the Lions. That’s the highest single-game total for any player this season… Packers P Daniel Whelan averaged 51.8 yards on his five punts in the Lions game… Las Vegas is trying to avoid its second 1-4 start in a row… The previous time the Raiders had consecutive 1-4 starts was in 2008 and 2009. They finished 6-11 last season… The Raiders are 42-31-1 on Monday night… Adams is second in the NFL in targets with 50. Los Angeles Rams rookie sensation Puka Nacua has 52… Reigning league rushing champion Josh Jacobs has just 166 yards on the ground with a 2.7 average, but leads all running back with 173 yards receiving… Jacobs is 94 yards rushing from 5,000. Only three other Raiders have reached that mark… WR Jakobi Meyers is 76 yards receiving from 3,000… K Daniel Carlson is three field goals from 150… The Packers are 8-0 against the Raiders since 1990. It is tied for the most wins without a loss by any NFL team against a single opponent in that span (also: Chiefs over Commanders and Eagles over Jets)… This is Green Bay's worst start to a season since 2014 (also started 2-2). Of the previous 24 times starting 2-2 in franchise history, the Packers have made the playoffs in six of those seasons (including the last four instances: 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014)… Jordan Love has completed nine passes of 30 or more yards this season, which is tied for the most in the NFL with Kirk Cousins. The Packers had 16 such plays in 2022, which was tied for 20th in the NFL… The Raiders have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in five straight games dating back to last season, the second-longest active streak in the NFL (Bengals, seven). The last longer streak by the Raiders was a team-record eight games in 2004… Josh Jacobs had 58 rush yards and 81 receiving yards last week. He was the first Raider with 50/80 in a single game since Marcel Reece in 2012 (Week 11 vs. Saints)… Davante Adams ranks second in the NFL in targets with 50 (Puka Nacua, LAR -- 52). He has been targeted 33 times over his last two games, the most targets by a Raiders player over a two-game span in the last 30 years. The only player with more targets over a two-game span this season is Puka Nacua with 35 in Weeks 1-2.
WEEK 5 NFL SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 5
Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders, 7:15 p.m., Prime Video
Sunday, October 8
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Buffalo Bills (Tottenham), 8:30 a.m., NFL Network
Houston Texans at Atlanta Falcons, 12:00 p.m., FOX
Carolina Panthers at Detroit Lions, 12:00 p.m., FOX
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts, 12:00 p.m., CBS
New York Giants at Miami Dolphins, 12:00 p.m., FOX
New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots, 12:00 p.m., CBS
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers, 12:00 p.m., CBS
Cincinnati Bengals at Arizona Cardinals, 3:05 p.m., FOX
Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Rams, 3:05 p.m., FOX
New York Jets at Denver Broncos, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers, 7:20 p.m., NBC*
Monday, October 9
Green Bay Packers at Las Vegas Raiders, 7:15 p.m., ESPN
