Oakland Raiders achieving a rare, dubious sort of perfection in 2018
By Kevin Saito
The Oakland Raiders dropped their third game in a row to start the 2018 campaign, helping them to achieve a rare and dubious sort of perfection.
Well, take heart everybody, the Oakland Raiders are three-for-three so far this season. Yes, their record is 0-for2018 still, but if you stop and think about it – and are a little bit cynical – they are indeed achieving a rare, and dubious sort of perfection.
Think about it – in all three games so far this season, the Raiders have gone into the second half with a lead. In the case of the Broncos last week, and the Dolphins this week, that lead extended well into the fourth quarter.
And yet, in all three cases, they managed to find a way to snatch defeat straight out of the jaws of victory – which, if you think about it, makes them dubiously perfect in 2018!
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What makes this entirely frustrating is that you can see this team is close. If they make a few smarter calls, make a few extra plays, and maybe, do a couple fewer dumb things, this is a team that could turn a corner, and start piling up a few wins.
The biggest question right now though, might be, is whether or not this team is actually capable of doing any of those things.
The Raiders are extremely adept at finding new and creative ways to shoot themselves in the foot on a week in, week out basis, it seems. If it’s not penalties, it’s poor pass defense. If it’s not poor pass defense, it’s atrocious run defense. If it’s not a matter of poor execution, it’s incredibly poor play calling.
As a for instance – on Oakland’s penultimate drive, it was clear that the Dolphins defensive front was gassed. Marshawn Lynch and Doug Martin were abusing them, carrying defenders for yards, and moving well down the field. Mixed in with some sharp passing from Carr, it was a very solid looking drive.
A drive that should have ended in points that would have salted the game away.
And yet, on first down from Miami’s 13-yard line, the play call that came in was – well, quite frankly – stupid. With three minutes still on the clock, rather than use Lynch and Martin who had been so effective on the drive, HC Jon Gruden dialed up a fade to the back of the endzone, trying to get it all in one fell swoop.
It was stupid because had the play worked, it would have put Oakland up by a field goal – and given the Dolphins around three minutes to work with.
Why not milk the clock? Lynch and Martin had been incredibly effective on that drive, so why not take some extra time off of it, punch it in, and not give Ryan Tannehill – who caught fire after a slow start – the opportunity to lead a game tying, or winning drive?
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Why would you do that? Why would any sane person do that?
Even worse than the play call though, was the execution. Carr lofted one up that was short. You can’t even really call it a 50/50 jump ball simply because the intended target – the White Tiger himself, Martavis Bryant – never had a shot at it. Xavien Howard had inside position on Bryant on the play, shiedling him from ever being able to make a play on the ball.
As a result, Howard collected his second pick of the day – though, the first was more Amari Cooper‘s fault than Carr’s – and that pretty much sealed the game right then and there.
The 74-yard touchdown “pass” from Tannehill to Albert Wilson was simply icing on the already baked cake.
And just like that – what was a 10-point Raiders lead (17-7) with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter, turned into a 28-20 comeback win for the Dolphins, moving them to 3-0 on the season, while sending Oakland to a very Cleveland-esque 0-3.
The Raiders, just like last week against Denver, had plenty of chances to ice this game, and get themselves into the win column.
Yet, just like last week – and the week before that, if we’re being honest – found yet another way to lose.
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They came out on fire in the first half for the third game in a row, and staked themselves to a lead by playing some solid football. But, then came halftime, and for the third week in a row, everything changed – and not for the better.
And after completing their third straight come from ahead loss, the Raiders remain dubiously perfect in 2018.