When Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis was still alive, he instilled a culture in the organization by using the phrase ‘Just win baby’ as he viewed winning more important than anything else.
That culture has gone away a bit in recent years though as the Raiders have not made the postseason since 2002.
since Jon Gruden left the organization in 2001 the Raiders had eight different head coaches, none of which had a winning record, until Jack Del Rio was hired before last season.
Del Rio went 7-9 in his first season with the organization, but the Raiders were competitive in almost every game so expectations were high going into this season.
The Raiders have not disappointed through the first half of the season, as they are off to their best start in over a decade at 6-2 which is good enough for a first place tie with the Denver Broncos in the AFC West.
In Week 8 Oakland defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-24 in overtime despite setting an NFL record with 23 penalties for 200 yards. While Del Rio was not happy with the penalties, winning the game was the most important thing to him as he is bringing back the ‘just win baby’ culture to the organization, via Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports Radio:
Jack Del Rio is only worried about one thing for his @RAIDERSpic.twitter.com/94u0eF7zDn
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) November 4, 2016
The Raiders, who are currently 5-0 on the road, return home Sunday as they host the Broncos in a first place showdown. While it is still relatively early in the season, this is perhaps the Raiders biggest game yet this season as they have hopes to win the division.