The Las Vegas Raiders’ offense has been abysmal for most of the season, and head coach Josh McDaniels is starting to feel the heat. The Raiders have yet to resemble anything close to the explosive unit many felt they could be, and their performance against the Chicago Bears was their worst yet.
The Raiders turned the ball over three times, and their 235 total yards and 39 rushing yards were both season lows in their 30-12 loss. But despite their struggles, the Raiders are still well within range of the postseason if they can turn things around and make a run, and McDaniels maintains his belief that they aren’t far off.
McDaniels spoke on Monday and said that the mindset of the Raiders is right and that he will always believe his team is close to turning things around, via Aidan Champion of Sports Illustrated:
“I’ll always think we’re close,” McDaniels said when he addressed the media Monday. “I mean, I watch us in practice very closely, and you see execution, you see good plays, you obviously see a lot of intentions to do the right thing. I think we have the right mindset.
“I think we understand what we’re trying to get done. … We have a lot of good players. So, there’s a fine line between not doing good enough and really doing well.”
McDaniels would continue on, believing that the Raiders have multiple plays in a game where just one change in execution would make all the difference:
“And sometimes, like I said, it’s six plays or seven — whatever it might be, you change the result. And the result — I’m not talking about we break 19 tackles and score a touchdown. We finish one block and then, all of a sudden, it’s a big play, or we make a read or a protection adjustment, or what have you, and it changes the result of the play.”
The Raiders currently rank 30th in the NFL in points scored and dead last in interceptions and rushing yards. There is a lot of room for improvement, but the team has the talent to be one of the better offenses in the NFL.
McDaniels is right to have belief in his squad, but he and the Raiders are going to need to find a way to kick this offense into gear very soon before the season spirals away and the franchise finds itself on the outside of the playoffs looking in once again.
