Oakland Raiders: Some Numbers Important To The Team’s Success In 2017

The Oakland Raiders are coming off a successful 2016 campaign, a season in which they earned their first postseason berth in more than a decade – but here are a few numbers critical to continuing that success.

2016 was a pretty good year for the Oakland Raiders, all things considered. They fielded a team that was fiercely competitive, very nearly won the AFC West, and did manage to snap their long playoff drought. It was a tantalizing glimpse of what this team could be, and we’re left to wonder what could have been if not for one bad break – that break of course, being Derek Carr‘s leg.

That isn’t to say that it was all sunshine and roses for the Raiders though. Far from it. Though they absolutely fielded their best team in a very long time, some of their flaws and shortcomings were exposed over the course of the season. Oftentimes, repeatedly.

Trouble covering the tight end, a sometimes leaky secondary, trouble stopping the run – those were just some of the problems plaguing the Raiders in 2016. Problems that made things more difficult for this team than they had to be. Problems, that if corrected, could lead this team to even greater heights in 2017.

They say that numbers don’t lie. Though, they can sometimes be twisted and skewed to conform to a certain agenda, by and large, the sentiment is true. And some of the numbers the Raiders put up last season most certainly don’t paint the team in a flattering light.

This Raiders team could definitely be a contender in 2017, but to get there, to do something special, they’re going to have to improve upon some of those less than flattering numbers.

Numbers like the following…