Friday Fact or Fiction – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Oakland Raiders

I did my part last week by making some rock-solid predictions for the opening regular season game, but the Jacksonville Jaguars offense decided to take their first game against the Kansas City Chiefs off.

Well here we are again, with the Jaguars travelling to the west coast to face the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are favored to win this game and it really shouldn’t be surprising considering how they played against the Colts last week. Here are some well thought out, completely not arbitrary predictions for this week’s game.

Sep 8, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor (2) tries to elude Indianapolis Colts safety Antoine Bethea (41) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Terrelle Pryor will have +100 yards rushing: FICTION

Terrelle Pryor had the most rushing yards of any player last Sunday as the Indianapolis Colts couldn’t figure out how to slow down the second year player when he broke out of the pocket. Pryor wasn’t nearly as effective as a passer, so expect Gus Bradley and Bob Babich to focus on how to contain Pryor on both designed runs and scrambles. Pryor is going to have to find a way to beat the Jaguars through the air.

Maurice Jones-Drew will have +100 yards rushing: FACT

The Jaguars curiously did not integrate Maurice Jones-Drew into their week 1 gameplan very heavily. This week will certainly be different with starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert out and wide receiver Justin Blackmon still out with a suspension. The Jaguars are going hand the ball to Jones-Drew early and often to try and negate the underrated Raiders pass rush. The Raiders had 10 quarterback hurries to go along with 4 sacks of Andrew Luck last week.

Cecil Shorts will have +100 yards receiving and a touchdown : FACT

Chad Henne is not a good quarterback. Let’s just go ahead and get that out of the way. Henne has a tendency to hold the ball too long and then throw “just because.” Still his one “advantage” over Blaine Gabbert is that he’s willing to throw it down the field and into coverage. Henne is definitely boom or bust, but when he booms it’s probably going to have something to do with Cecil Shorts. Shorts had a rough start in week 1, but he recovered when the game was well out of reach with a ridiculous circus catch and 3 receptions for 40 yards. He’s too good to play poorly again in week 2.

It’s tough not to pick the Jaguars to win just because there really aren’t too many other games on the schedule that seem winnable, but the Jaguars are in a tough spot travelling to the west coast shorthanded. The Jaguars have a chance, but I think they fall just short in Oakland.

Prediction:   Raiders 24- Jaguars  17

– Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89