Raiders and Commanders both have 1 win against a bad team and 1 loss to a good team

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Las Vegas (1-1) at Washington (1-1)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Commanders by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Raiders 1-1; Commanders 1-1.

Series record: Commanders lead, 8-7.

Last week: Raiders lost to Chargers 20-9; Commanders lost to Packers 27-18.

Last meeting: Commanders beat Raiders 17-15 at Last Vegas on Dec. 5, 2021.

Raiders offense: overall (22), rush (31), pass (11), scoring (31).

Raiders defense: overall (19), rush (4), pass (27), scoring (5).

Commanders offense: overall (14t), rush (8), pass (23t), scoring (23).

Commanders defense: overall (16), rush (14), pass (18), scoring (6t).

Turnover differential: Raiders -2; Commanders even.

QB Geno Smith looked like an All-Pro in the victory at New England, but then threw three interceptions against the Chargers. Expect Smith to not force as many passes against the Commanders while still looking for opportunities to test the secondary deep. How he balances that will go a long way toward determining if the Raiders can pull off the road win.

QB Jayden Daniels/Marcus Mariota. The most important position in football is up in the air for Washington this week, because Daniels hurt his knee against Green Bay and missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday. The AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is, by far, the best player on the Commanders, though Mariota has proven to be a capable backup if Daniels sits out Sunday.

Raiders TEs Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer vs. the Commanders LBs and DBs. Bowers, assuming he's healthy, is a bona fide star, even though he only is in his second year, and Washington had a rough time trying to cover tight ends in the loss to the Packers: Tucker Kraft 124 receiving yards were the most by a Green Bay tight end since 2015, and he also scored a TD.

Raiders: Bowers (knee) should be healthier than he was against the Chargers. S Jeremy Chinn (pectoral) and G Jackson Powers-Johnson (concussion) have been limited in practice.

Commanders: Aside from Daniels, Washington's starting lineup was depleted by injuries against Green Bay. RB Austin Ekeler and DE Deatrich Wise Jr. are out for the season, CB Jonathan Jones went on injured reserve, and WR Noah Brown (groin) and TE John Bates (groin) are both considered long shots to face Las Vegas.

The Commanders have won four of the five most recent meetings. ... The AFC's Raiders and NFC's Commanders have just one postseason meeting: The Raiders won 38-9 in the Super Bowl in January 1984.

The two head coaches know each other well: Washington’s Dan Quinn was the defensive coordinator on the staff that current Raiders coach Pete Carroll ran when he took the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowls. ... The Raiders' Bowers can extend his streak to 20 games with at least two catches, which would be the second longest for a tight end to open a career. Detroit’s Sam LaPorta set the record with 21 games. … S Jeremy Chinn, who played for the Commanders last year, is looking for his sixth consecutive season with at least one sack. Only six other defensive backs, going back to 1982 when the statistic became official, have had at least one sack each of their first six seasons. … A victory would move Raiders coach Pete Carroll into a tie with Bill Parcells for 16th in NFL history with 172 wins. … The Raiders allow 70.5 yards rushing per game, fourth best in the league. It’s the fewest yards they have allowed on the ground through two games since 2019, when that team gave up a 63-yard average. … LB Devin White and New Orleans’ Demario Davis are the only players since 2019 with at least 600 tackles and 20 sacks. … RB Ashton Jeanty has run for only 81 yards through two games. He ran for at least 100 in every game last season at Boise State. ... The good: Washington has not turned the ball over through two games. The bad: The team also hasn't forced a turnover yet. ... Commanders WR Deebo Samuel is one of five players with at least seven catches each of the first two weeks this season. He has one TD catch and one TD run so far in his first season in Washington. ... TE Zach Ertz has a touchdown catch in four consecutive games, going back to last season. ... LB Von Miller leads active players with 130 sacks; he has nine sacks in 17 games against the Raiders. ... PK Matt Gay is just 1 for 3 on field-goal attempts this season, his first with the Commanders. ... Rookie RB Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt went from 82 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 to only 17 yards in Week 2. He is expected to get the start Sunday with Ekeler out.

Bowers is a good choice no matter who the opponent is, as last season's numbers attest: 112 catches, 1,194 yards, five touchdowns.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl