Las Vegas gets early jump on preseason next week
The Las Vegas Raiders will get a jump on the 2022 preseason slate one week from Thursday as they play the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game on Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio.
Thus, the Raiders and Jaguars will play four preseason games in 2022 while the rest of the league will play only three games. Coaches, such as the Raiders’ first-year coach Josh McDaniels, love playing the extra game because it gives the team more time on the practice field and his coaching staff more time to examine the roster. The Raiders were the first team to report to training camp with the entire squad in on July 20.
But does the extra game really give teams an advantage in the regular season? BetOhio conducted a study based on results of the Hall of Fame game participants since 2000. (The game has been canceled three time since then for various reasons.)
According to the study, 42 percent of the 38 teams in the study made the playoffs and 15.8 percent of the teams made the divisional playoff round. None of the teams won the Super Bowl.
To me this study doesn’t show that there is a direct relation to getting the extra preseason game and in-season success. Still, McDaniels is right to be excited about this opportunity, which, of course, will be played in his hometown.
In other Raiders’ links:
- Nice cause: Every time Daniel Carlson makes a field goal this season, a charity will benefit.
- Camp buzz: Bleacher Report looks at the Raiders’ latest training camp news and rumors.
- Hobbs’ buzz: PFF calls second-year cornerback Nate Hobbs a “secret superstar.”