Points distribution, storylines, prediction and more

Antonio Pierce and the Las Vegas Raiders are in a good position going into their first home game on Sunday against the weak Carolina Panthers.

After a season-opening loss to division rival Los Angeles Chargers, these Raiders defeated the Ravens in Baltimore. Vegas overcame a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to win 26-23.

Davante Adams went out. Gardner Minshew delivered a solid performance at quarterback. The Raiders' defense held reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson in check. It was the Raiders' biggest win in years.

Carolina, on the other hand, travels to Sin City with a season record of 0-2 and as the worst team in the NFL. Overall, the team was beaten 73-13. The Panthers are in last place in terms of points scored and the number of points allowed in the first two weeks.

New head coach Dave Canales has decided to bench former No. 1 pick Bryce Young after just 18 career games. Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton will – for some reason – start in his place.

Here we preview the Week 3 game between the Panthers and Buccaneers. We take a look at the point spread, some top storylines, and a final prediction.

ForbesLas Vegas Raiders on Forbes NFL Team Ratings List

Panthers-Raiders preview: Point spread, TV info and more

• Date: Sunday, September 22nd
• Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
• TV: CBS
• Point distribution: Raiders (-5.0)

Top storylines for the duel between the Carolina Panthers and Las Vegas Raiders

Of course, the biggest story in this game is Carolina's decision to bench Young, which will continue to be a big talking point for the hard-pressed organization.

As the Raiders prepare for their first regular-season home game, it's up to Pierce to make sure there's no disappointment here. That's been an all-too-common theme for the Silver and Black in recent years. These are some of the key topics heading into Sunday afternoon's game.

Carolina Panthers take Bryce Young off the bench

Canales' decision to bench Young after just two games surprised the football world. Sure, Young was a disaster in his short time as a starting quarterback in the NFL (2-16, 10 TD, 12 INT). But benching him on a talent-poor roster made no sense.

Canales tried to explain it after Sunday's loss to the aforementioned Chargers.

“There are certainly many parties involved, and ultimately the responsibility comes back to me,” Canales said via the Panthers' official website. “My main responsibility is to help the Panthers win, and this move gives us the best chance to do that.”

This was in response to a question about whether controversial owner David Tepper played a role in Young's trade. He is considered an active owner in the league, which has caused a lot of drama behind the scenes. Of course, Canales would not admit that Tepper played a role in this surprising decision.

What we do know is that the Panthers are currently lost. Going from a young quarterback with potential to a 14-year veteran doesn't seem to make much sense for the newly formed team. We'll find out soon enough if it pays off. Panthers fans, don't wait too long.

Davante Adams' increased presence at the Las Vegas Raiders

Last week, this All-Pro receiver caught 9 of 12 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. He dominated the fourth quarter as the Raiders rallied from a deficit on the road. This came after a season-opening loss to the Chargers in which Adams was only targeted six times by Minshew. It was a big talking point after that loss.

ForbesHow the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium boosted events in Las VegasFrom Lee Hedgehog

“I didn't expect our offense to play its best game today. We just have to figure out what we can improve on and move on from there,” Adams said after Week 1. “I saw some good things from Gardner. [Minshew]and we need to work together to help him as best we can.”

Adams now has to face a Panthers defense that has given up a 71 percent pass rate to receivers this season. It will be interesting to see if the connection between Minshew and Adams continues after what happened late last week against Baltimore.

Raiders want to avoid disappointment

As I noted above, this was a constant theme under both Jon Gruden and Josh McDaniels, meaning the Raiders would come up with a blank immediately after an impressive win.

Las Vegas simply cannot afford that on Sunday in front of its home crowd. A win would put the team at 2-1, and it has games against the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos, both of which are obviously winnable.

Pierce, for his part, is still questioning his team after last week's win against Baltimore.

“We have to fix a lot of things,” he said Monday, via The Associated Press. “Yesterday we won, but a lot of things went wrong in the first quarter, the first half and the third quarter. We're not worried about the Panthers. We have to fix the Raiders.”

He will make sure the Raiders are ready to play, no matter how tough the competition is. We've seen that practically every week since he took over from McDaniels on an interim basis last season.

Raiders want to continue their success from the beginning of the season on defense

In Week 1, the Raiders allowed only 144 passing yards to the Chargers' star quarterback, Justin Herbert. Last Sunday, Lamar Jackson managed almost 300 yards, but he was limited to 45 yards on the ground after the reigning NFL MVP had 122 rushing yards against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The key against a veteran like Dalton will be getting more pass rush outside of Maxx Crosby. After all, he has recorded all three sacks for Las Vegas in two games. Big free agent Christian Wilkins will have to make an impact in that regard. The defensive tackle hasn't even had a quarterback hit in two games. That's just not enough.

Latest prediction for Panthers at Raiders

The Raiders should win this game by a wide margin. Carolina has lost 17 of 19 games since the start of last season. During that time, the team has not won a game on the road and has been outscored by a total of 161 points in 10 games. Yes, that's an average of 16.1 points per game.

Andy Dalton could be a veteran player in this game. He also beat the Raiders 3-0 in his career. But none of that matters. Carolina has the least talented roster in the NFL.

Pierce has his Raiders in top form heading into this game. Expect another brilliant performance from the Silver and Blacks in their first home game of the regular season.