HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) fell short on Sunday in their upset bid against the Buffalo Bills (5-1). The 33-30 loss hurt, but perspective is important.
In their last three games, the Raiders have faced the two favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl: the Kansas City Chiefs and the aforementioned Buffalo Bills.
In both games, the Raiders' upset bids ended not when their opponent beat them, but when they beat themselves.
In the other game, against the reigning AFC representative in the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots, it was a brutal butt-whipping.
That said, the overachieving Raiders continue to move forward with GM John Spytek making roster moves, and Klint Kubiak shining brightly as an NFL first-year coach.
The Report Card
Each Tuesday, throughout the season, I offer you my weekly report card from inside the franchise. An honest assessment, not based on fandom or hatred, no hyperbole, just an honest look at your team. Let’s dig in.
Offense: B-
At first glance, a struggling offensive line and no running game may make this seem far-fetched, but let me explain.
The reality is that part of the reason (and no, not the only reason) for the terrible rushing attack is that the opponents know Kubiak’s system. They know his system is built on running the ball, and defenses are selling out to stop it.
It doesn’t mean anemic run game is acceptable; it is not. It needs more attention, but Kubiak discussed his thoughts on the effort on Sunday.
"I think we have to get production from all three of our backs, and Mike Washington [Jr.] did some good stuff yesterday, and I thought overall our backs, they ran harder yesterday. I thought they broke tackles. I thought they moved the line of scrimmage when things weren't there. I thought Coach Omar [Young] did a really good job of challenging our guys. I thought they had one of their better games, and I expect that to continue to improve."
The red zone offense is not good. The Raiders are leaving far too many points on the field with their inability to score in the red zone. Something Kubiak is very aware of.
“Penalties, lack of execution. It's not one thing. But I think mainly when you want to be a good red zone team, you got to run the ball well in the red zone. We didn't do that."
The point is, against a team many feel is on its way to the Super Bowl, the Raiders put up 30 points, and you have the NFL’s leading touchdown-throwing QB, Kirk Cousins.
It isn’t pretty, but the Raiders offense is finding ways to score. It isn’t a beauty contest. Al Davis said, “Just Win, Baby.” He said nothing about pretty. Kubiak agrees.
“The object of the game is to score points, and whether you're getting it done from the ground or from the air, or they're coming from special teams or defensive scores as a team. Obviously, it's a team game, and it's about outscoring the opponent. So, we're never going to – we always want to be great in all facets, okay, but you're going to play to your strengths."
"So, moving the ball and scoring points was good yesterday. However, what do you got to do to get over the hump? You've got to score on all five possessions in the red zone, not just two of five.”
Defense: C+
At first, once again, that grade may seem too high. Trust me, it isn’t.
Robbie Leonard, despite a thin DL, a young defensive backfield, and a high-powered offense led by a certain Hall of Fame QB in Josh Allen, did give up 30 points.
But when you look at them holding Allen to one rushing yard, and some of those points coming off offensive mistakes, it was more than impressive; it was outstanding.
Chris Shula, the DC of the Los Angeles Rams, is rightfully discussed as a future head coach in this league, but Leonard just put on a clinic controlling what many consider the best offense in the NFL, and he's had only one bad week this year.
Leonard is an emerging star who can only coach with the roster he's been given, but his head coach trusts him, and they've formed a special tandem.
With John Spytek and his staff building a brilliant roster for the future, the outlook is bright.
Special Teams: D+
Matt Gay, AJ Cole, and long-snapper Alex Ward were great, but still, problems exist.
The Silver and Black special teams unit, for lack of a better term, self-destructed on Sunday through a myriad of costly penalties and, to be kind, poor coverage. They surrendered multiple big returns—including a 40-yard kickoff return to Ray Davis and a 22-yard punt return to Greg Dortch—while committing crucial veteran penalties that repeatedly gave Buffalo prime field position.
I am 100% a supporter of STC Joe DeCamillis, and you should be as well, but this is a rebuilding team, and special teams has been a consistent struggle this season.
DeCamillis will fix it, but it is really ugly.
Coaching: B-
First-year head coach Klint Kubiak made a rookie mistake when he challenged a play that he shouldn’t have, and that is part of the learning curve. The amazing thing about Kubiak is that, as a first-year coach, he should have had a plethora of mistakes; he hasn’t. You could count his mistakes on one hand and not even need all your fingers.
Robbie Leonard was outstanding, and while Kubiak’s staff has some real stars, this is a rebuilding roster. It is thin, young, and, in many places, void of talent.
Credit the Raiders for not panicking and building the right way.
Without this staff, there's no way the Raiders are 3-3 today, but they are.
Raider Nation: B+
This fan base sold a lot of their tickets well before preseason games started. I had several family members and friends who are Bills fans, bought their tickets months ago, and were in town.
That said, I have been to every Raiders game and practice in Allegiant Stadium. The crowd was conservatively 75-25 Bills fans, and I have never seen a crowd that lopsided.
Credit Raider Nation, however: with far more Bills fans in attendance, the crowd was never overwhelming for the Bills, and Raider Nation was loud at all the appropriate times.
As one season ticket holder who sold their tickets told me, “I love what Klint and Spytek are doing; I won’t be selling tickets next year if they keep this up.”
Final Take
If I had told you back in June that the Raiders would play the Bills as they did, most reasonable people would have laughed.
This loss hurt, because the Raiders beat themselves.
But in the long run, there were a lot of positives you can take from it. If the true direction the leaders of this franchise want to take is a Super Bowl, then Sunday was a yardstick. Reading it, this team may not be as far off as once thought.
The Rams, I suspect, are coming into a buzz saw, a Silver-and-Black buzz saw. If the Raiders play the Rams as they did the Bills and Chiefs, next week we will be talking about an upset.
Can you hear that noise? It’s called optimism, Raider Nation.
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