Oakland Raiders: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly vs. Chargers

The Good: Oakland’s Relentless Offense

The one thing you can – and should – applaud this Raiders offense for is their resiliency and relentlessness. There is no doubt that ever since their blowout loss to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl, the Raiders somehow forgot how to win. That loss vaulted them into a downward losing spiral that they hadn’t been able to escape.

Until this season.

You could start to see the beginnings of it last year as Jack Del Rio and Reggie McKenzie actively sought to change the culture in Oakland and start teaching the team how to win again. It’s been a painful process with lots of bumps in the road, but you can start to see the fruits of their labor beginning to bloom.

This team is pulling wins out of their backsides that even last year, they would have found a way to lose. Blow a fourth quarter lead? Two years ago, they wouldn’t have been able to bounce back and find a way to win. They would have simply packed it in and called it a day.

But this year is different. These Raiders are fighting tooth and nail down to the wire and finding ways to win. And that begins with not just Del Rio, but with Carr. The third year quarterback is putting this team on his back and in playing at an elite level, is helping will this team to victory.

When a team lands a vicious punch that many think should knock them out, Carr gets right back up and leads this team back down the field to answer the bell. We’ve seen him punch and counterpunch with some of the best quarterbacks in the league – Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and yes, even Philip Rivers.

And he’s come out victorious in four of five games. Nail biters yes, but wins all the same. Carr and his offensive unit are as resilient as they are relentless and this team is reaping the rewards of it.