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

The Good – Getting A Win

Ugly wins count every bit as much as pretty wins do. Just ask the Denver Broncos, who parlayed a string of hideous, barely watchable games into a Super Bowl title last season.

Getting an ugly win is a formula that’s worked for the Raiders two out of three weeks so far this season. And like Jack Del Rio told his team after the game, “Always enjoy wins in this league, boys.”

Because in the end, that’s what matters. That’s what this team will be judged on – the number of wins they can accumulate over the season. Coming into the season, most thought Oakland would accumulate enough wins to qualify for their first postseason berth since 2002. Many believed them capable of accumulating enough wins to capture their first division title since George W. Bush was sitting in the Oval Office.

But now, three weeks in – and despite having a 2-1 record – that bandwagon has gotten a little bit lighter. Some have backed away from the playoff talk thanks to a defense leakier than the Titanic after it hit that giant iceberg.

While it’s true that the defense has been horrid, they showed some signs of life against the Titans. They still gave up too many yards and allowed Marcus Mariota to find the chinks in the armor, but they hung on for a win. Barely, but they hung on.

Not every game is going to be a masterpiece. The offense wasn’t especially sharp, but they did just enough to get by. The defense was better than the previous two weeks and also did just enough to get by. And in the end, Oakland notched their second win in three games – and that’s all that matters.