A litany of players have come and gone from the Las Vegas Raiders since the franchise’s inception in 1960. Yet, like the late, great Al Davis used to say, “Once a Raider, always a Raider.”
Some players, though they’ve been retired for years or decades, still feel connected to the Raiders. As they track what is meant to be a pivotal year for the franchise, one of the franchise’s former players is making a rather bold prediction for the season ahead.
Ex-Raiders DE Insists Team Wins 12 Games This Season
The Raiders have combined for just seven wins in the past two seasons. That’s a woeful record of just 7-27.
Yet, now as Klint Kubiak prepares for his first season as the Raiders’ head coach, is it fair to compare this group to last year’s? After all, the roster has been rejigged drastically on both sides of the ball.
Some, like former Raiders defensive end Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, actually believe the Raiders are in store for a big year. As in, winning 12 games. At least, that was his prediction during a recent appearance on the “Rich Eisen Show.”
“Don’t say it like, 12 wins? Gbaja-Biamila said. “Why are you questioning me? I might miss on one or two of the games, but they will be somewhere in the range of that 11-12-win season.”
Gbaja-Biamila believes the Raiders can get out to a red-hot start, winning their first three games before possibly going on a tough three-game losing streak.
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Yet, he believes Kubiak’s team can bounce back and mount another late-season hot streak to put the team in position to earn a playoff spot. Lastly, the former Raider thinks the final game will come down to the wire, with Las Vegas defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime.
That sounds like an incredible season for Kirk Cousins and/or Fernando Mendoza and Co. The last time the Raiders won 12 games came in 2016. Yet, their new head coach just won 14 regular-season games as offensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks, so perhaps this prediction isn’t that outrageous either.
Still, until the Raiders can actually string a few regular-season wins together, there will be far more skeptics than believers.
For a team that hasn’t had a winning streak since Week 16-17 of the 2024 season, the Raiders have a lot to prove, but like the rest of the NFL, they’re getting a fresh start at 0-0 and a chance to write their own history.
