Oakland Raiders v. Miami Dolphins: Four Things That Must Happen

The Oakland Raiders limp into a prime-time game with the Miami Dolphins having lost five of their last six games. To get back on the winning track, a few things need to happen.

Sitting at 3-5 on the season, the Oakland Raiders are on the verge of having what began as such a promising year come crashing down into flaming ruins. Suffice it to say, the 2017 campaign hasn’t gone anywhere near according to plan.

The defense was thought to be the team’s weakness before the season started. With David Amerson, Sean Smith, and Reggie Nelson not playing anywhere near up to par, let alone playing like guys worth the big dollar deals they signed, Oakland’s secondary has once again become a punching bag for opposing offenses.

The secondary, with the exception of Karl Joseph and T.J. Carrie (more or less), has been worse than the 2016 version. And if you were around for the dumpster fire that was last year’s secondary, you’d know that’s really saying something.

Though it doesn’t seem like it, the run defense has actually improved, lowering the average yards per carry by opposing teams from 4.6 last season to 4.0 this year.

But the one big thorn that keeps digging into our collective paws, is the fact that this defense has been giving up “explosive plays” at a pace greater than last year’s group. Though, to be fair, the run defense has cleaned up its act in a big way, but the pass defense has been getting torched by those big plays.

Much of that was expected coming into the season though. What wasn’t expected was for Oakland’s vaunted high-powered offense to sputter, stutter, and ultimately crap out. Last year’s sixth ranked unit has tumbled all the way down to near the bottom of the league in most major statistical categories.

As dire as it all seems though – and yeah, it seems incredibly bleak right now – the Raiders have eight games to get it right. If they can come together as a team, put some fire and punch back into their lifeless offense, and really buckle down on the other side of the ball, they have the potential to put together a really good string.

It won’t be easy, of course, The back half of their schedule is a Murderer’s Row. The margin for error is now non-existent and they have got to do something they’ve not done for most of the 2017 campaign – play inspired, passionate, mistake-free football.

They’re playing a game in prime-time and have a chance to put the league on notice that they’re not going to roll over and throw in the towel on the 2017 season.

And to do that, they’re going to need to do a few things…