The Raiders are heading into their week 4 game against the Indianapolis Colts with a three-game losing streak and they will try to pull off an upset on Sunday with a few key players on the sideline.
Kolton Miller and Germain Pratt have already been ruled out and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that Brock Bowers (knee) is unlikely to play, as well.
The Colts (3-1) have been one of the NFL’s surprise teams this year in large part because of a running game that is spearheaded by Jonathan Taylor, who leads the league in rushing yards.
If the Raiders hope to keep up with the Colts on Sunday, they’ll need to slow down Taylor, and former Raider great Lincoln Kennedy said the key to doing that starts with 31-year-old Adam Butler.
“This is a huge opportunity for Adam Butler. Huge opportunity because the Colts like to run between the tackles. And Adam Butler really is the main beef of the defensive tackle,” Kennedy said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast.
“I think this is a big game, a statement game from him. I’ve seen him play phenomenally for the last couple of years and doing his job as a block eater and everything else. But I think this is a big breakout game for Adam Butler.”
For the second consecutive season, Butler has been asked to fill a huge void left by Christian Wilkins, and last year he had arguably the best year of his NFL career.
Butler excels as a gap defender, but the Raiders will need everyone on their defensive line to make contributions against the Colts.
As of Saturday evening, the Colts (-7) are touchdown favorites to beat the Raiders in Indianapolis.
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