Oakland Raiders: First Three Games A Case Of Better Lucky Than Good
By Kevin Saito
The Oakland Raiders are off to a 2-1 start this season, but seem to be proving the old adage that sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.
On the surface, the Oakland Raiders are 2-1, and the arrow is pointed way upward for this long suffering franchise. Which is great news for the team and its fans. Even better, the Raiders have one of the league’s most potent and dynamic offenses – it checks in as the league’s second best unit, averaging 436 yards per game.
The Raiders have the second best running attack and a top ten passing offense. And along with some solid veterans like Michael Crabtree and Bruce Irvin, they also have some of the league’s brightest young stars in Derek Carr, Amari Cooper, and Khalil Mack.
However, despite the belief that things are heading on an upward trajectory for this club, this team is very fortunate to be 2-1 when they could very easily be 0-3 at this juncture. But so far, the Raiders are proving that old adage correct – sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.
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The Raiders are 2-1, but have plenty of issues that need to be addressed. Take a look at how they got there – a “ballsy” two-point conversion call against New Orleans. The loss to Atlanta. And now, a very fortunate win over Tennessee that came down to a call near the end of the game that.
A call that if it hadn’t go Oakland’s way, we might be having a very different discussion.
After starting at their own 20 yard line – with just under two minutes left in the game – Oakland’s defense allowed Marcus Mariota to take his offense all the way down the field. In less than a minute, Mariota got the Tennessee offense all the way down to the Oakland three yard line thanks to three deep balls to Harry Douglas and Tajae Sharpe.
If not for an unnecessary roughness call on Titans lineman Taylor Lewan and an offensive pass interference call on receiver Andre Johnson – a call that wiped out a touchdown – Tennessee would have tied that game up. Or, they could have channeled their inner-Jack Del Rio and gone for two had the touchdown stood.
And though most likely won’t agree, that call on Johnson was a gift. It’s a call that could have gone either way. It’s a call we have seen go either way before.
No matter which way you look at it, the Raiders got incredibly lucky to walk out of that game with a win. And they’re equally as lucky to be sitting at 2-1 on the season.
Oakland’s defensive problems have been chronicled ad nauseam. Though, in all fairness, they did look much better against Tennessee than they did at any point over the first two weeks. But this past Sunday, we saw the Raiders develop a little hitch in the giddyup of their offense.
Far from the juggernaut of the first two weeks, Oakland’s offense was a little hit and miss versus the Titans. For much of the day, the Raiders offense seemed a little out of rhythm. A little out of sync.
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They still managed to put up 368 yards of offense, but Carr (21 of 35, 249 yards, one touchdown, one interception) was less efficient in week three.
Likewise, the running game, though solid, was less dynamic and less efficient against the Titans defense than they were in the first two weeks.
Though the receiving group has been electric early on, they too had some troubles in Nashville. The team had done a good job of limiting mistakes through the first two weeks, but Oakland’s receivers dropped three balls against Tennessee.
That brings their season total to five dropped passes – which puts them in the upper portion of the league in that category.
It wasn’t the crisp, efficient, and explosive performance by the Raiders offense that we saw through the first two weeks. But they got the job done. They made plays when they had to. And the defense, for the first time this season, stepped up and made some plays as well.
But it still came down to that bad penalty on Lewan, and what some might view as a questionable penalty on Johnson to seal that win. If not for some “ballsy” play calling, and a very fortunate penalty, this team very easily could be 0-3.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know – saying they could easily be 0-3 is like saying if your aunt had a package, she’d be your uncle. We get that. The fact of the matter though, is that no matter which way you slice it, the Raiders are 2-1.
But in many ways, it’s a case of being more lucky than good.
As HC Jack Del Rio said, this team has to “enjoy wins in this league.” And for their hard fought victories, they absolutely should. But Del Rio has also said they have a lot still to “clean up” in their game. And that is also very true – on both sides of the ball.
That clean up needs to come sooner rather than later, as the Raiders have a date with a 3-0 Ravens team that is a lot more well rounded than any of their opponents to date. In beating Buffalo, Cleveland, and Jacksonville to get to 3-0, Baltimore hasn’t exactly played the league’s elite. But this is a very dangerous team and one that should not be taken lightly.
And this is a team that behind Joe Flacco, Steve Smith, and a nasty defense, can get very hot, very quickly, and make your entire day miserable.
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Against this Baltimore team, the Raiders have the chance to produce a quality win on the road. But to do that, they are going to have to have quality outings by both the offense and the defense. And they’ll need to avoid leaving things to chance – like a late call that may or may not have been questionable, but broke their way.
This is an incredibly talented team more than capable of very special things this year. But they need to start playing like it. They need to put together a quality sixty minutes and dominate in all three phases of the game – something they have not done thus far this season.
The Raiders need to come out fired up and in rhythm. And they need to show themselves – and the football world – that they aren’t just lucky, but that they are actually good.