The Oakland Raiders have been forced to deal with a ton of adversity in 2019, having a key player go down with an injury seemingly every week.
For the last few weeks, the big name missing from the Silver and Black has been defensive back Lamarcus Joyner, who injured his hamstring during the Raiders’ Week 10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers and has missed the last two games.
It appears Joyner is making progress in his recovery though as head coach Jon Gruden believes that he will be back for the Raiders’ big Week 13 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, via Scott Blair of NBC Sports:
“We hope to have him back,” Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said. “He took some turns today and got the game plan. He’s been out for a couple weeks now, which has really been a big deal for us. You know when you lose two safeties, your nickel, and your linebackers, it’s been tough, but we do think he has a real good chance to play.”
Without Joyner the Raiders defense was left helpless against the New York Jets last week, losing 34-3. Jets quarterback Sam Darnold was able to total 315 passing yards on the day, his second-highest single-game total this year.
Joyner has yet to record an interception this season but has proven to be a key piece to the Raiders defense. He has played multiple positions and been a spark plug all year long.
His return could not have come at a better time with the Raiders hoping to knock the wind out of the Chiefs on the road. Kansas City been rejuvenated by the return of Patrick Mahomes, but have actually been worse at home this season than on the road, which could help Oakland.
Should the Raiders win, they would put themselves in a first-place tie with the Chiefs atop the AFC West standings. Kansas City would have the tiebreaker for the time being, although both teams play the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos again to close out the season, so wins there could lead to a playoff berth for the Raiders.
With all the injuries this season, it is truly amazing that the Raiders have overcome them to put their name into the playoff race. Adversity has been a defining characteristic for 2019, but overcoming adversity has truly defined the Raiders 2019 season.