The Oakland Raiders came crashing back down to Earth against the New York Jets in Week 12 following their most impressive stretch of the 2019 NFL season.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has received plenty of praise for turning this team into a potential playoff contender in just his second year with the team. However, the 34-3 loss to a struggling Jets team is a reminder that they are still far from a finished product.
It is no secret that the Raiders have ushered in some significant changes since Gruden took over, which included a bit of a youth movement at key positions. The loss to New York is evidence that they are enduring their fair share of growing pains with all the new arrivals.
Gruden acknowledges that Oakland is still trying to make progress in their development as a team, via Jerry McDonald of The Mercury News:
“We’re not the ’85 Bears,” coach Jon Gruden said. “We’re a developing team, we’re developing our roster. We’re making strides. Today was a setback. We’re going to give our preparation every ounce of diligence that we can. We know what we’re up against at Arrowhead. They’re coming off a bye week so it’s not going to be easy.”
There is no question that this roster has experienced some serious turnover in recent years and this has continued well into the 2019 campaign due to a number of injuries at key positions. It is clear that the players are still getting accustomed to some of the new changes in the scheme and overall personnel.
As a result, the Raiders were bound to run into a few trap games while they continue to find their bearings. This happened to be the case against a Jets team that was hungry to get a winning streak going after enduring their own struggles this season.
The Raiders were fully expected to keep their winning streak going before a pivotal AFC West showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 13. It will be interesting to see if they are able to find a way to bounce back in what is now a must-win situation moving forward.
Oakland can no longer afford to succumb to their inexperience since the margin for error is now much smaller if they hope to keep their playoff hopes alive down the final stretch of the season. They will certainly have their work cut out with Kansas City having an extra week to prepare for them due to the bye.
