Oakland Raiders: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Vs. Tennessee Titans

The Oakland Raiders left Nashville with a key win to move to 2-1 on the season – let’s break down the good, the bad, and the ugly from that game.

Though probably too early to say this was a must-win game for the Oakland Raiders, this was pretty much a must-win game. Or at the very least, a “must stop the bleeding immediately game. Needless to say, there was a sense of urgency to fix some of the issues that have plagued this team through the first two weeks of the season.

The issues plaguing this team of course, primarily being the defense. We all know the ugliness of the numbers this team posted through two weeks – 1,035 yards of total offense and 69 points. Things got so bad, HC Jack Del Rio temporarily took play calling duties away from DC Ken Norton Jr. in the loss to Atlanta.

Suffice it to say, things were looking a little bleak on the defensive side of the ball.

After much had been said and written about Oakland’s porous, historically bad defense, you couldn’t really blame the unit for coming to Nashville with a bit of a chip on their shoulders. They obviously had something to prove.

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But did they prove it? Did they prove anything? Well – yes and no.

The defensive effort was vastly improved over the first two weeks of the season. But overall, it still wasn’t as crisp, smooth, or effective as this team needs it to be if they hope to contend.

What has to be a little bit more concerning is that this week, the offense didn’t have a particularly good day. It had its moments, of course. And it made plays when it had to – for the most part. But for much of the day, it was disjointed and a bit out of rhythm.

But not every game is going to be poetry in motion. The team will not be firing on all cylinders in every single game. That goes for both the offense and the defense. It’s going to happen over the course of a long season.

The important thing is this team found a way to deal with adversity and come out of it with a win. Which is the mark of a good team.

In the afterglow of a good win, let’s now sift through it all and take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of the game against Tennessee.