Oakland Raiders: Keys To Victory Over Detroit Lions

Nov 15, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio reacts after no penalty was called against the Minnesota Vikings on a pass play in the third quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 30-14. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Play With Some Fire, Passion

One of the first things that became strikingly obvious last weekend was how flat and seemingly uninterested the team was. Neither side of the ball was immune to it as the offense was just as listless as the defense. And given the vanilla, conservative offense being called against the Vikings, it’s no wonder the players couldn’t get excited by the game plan.

Against Detroit though, the Raiders absolutely, positively cannot afford to come out as listless and lifeless as they did last week.

Oakland needs to come straight out of the gate with a crazed look in their eyes and play like their hair is on fire. They need to play with fire. They need to play with passion. They need to play like their playoff lives depended upon the outcome of that game because quite frankly, they might.

With some many teams around them – and chasing a few teams now above them – the Raiders are in a hole. If they hope to snag one of the wild cards – or even win a division title – they need to play like they want it. They need to play like they will tear anybody apart who tries to get between them and a win.

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They need to play like it really, really matters. Because it does.

The Raiders need to come out of the tunnel like a pack of rabid dogs and they need to punch the Lions in the mouth at the opening snap and then keep punching them in the mouth throughout the game. It seems a little too early to tag something a “must win” but this is as close to it as they can get.