Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

For the Oakland Raiders this season began with a loss to the San Diego Chargers so its only  fitting that a disappointing 2012 comes to and end with another loss to those same Chargers.

So the only real question is did Dennis Allen’s team make progress from week one until now? The answer is yes…kind of.

The score was closer this time around as the Raiders rallied to make this a 24-21 nail biter. Unlike the debacle that was the Monday Night opener there were no botched snaps by the emergency long snapper. So that is something to hang your hat on.

But if you really want a reason to be optimistic for the Silver and Black then just go back and take a look at what Terrelle Pryor did today in his first NFL start.

Sure, Pryor made his fare share of mistakes including a few ill-advised throws, a Carson Palmer-esque turnover and some seriously shaky footwork in the pocket. But this is a results driven business and in the last two games the Raiders as a team failed to find the end zone. In one afternoon of football Pryor was responsible for all three of Oakland’s TDs including two throwing and one running.

His numbers might not grab you but Pryor’s production over percentages is ripped right out of the Al Davis book on winning football. The positive s far outweighed the negatives today. For a second forget the stats, all you need to know is the Raiders were trailing late in the second half 24-7 at one point in this contest. Pryor’s clutch play combined with a blocked punt by Coye Francies helped make this one interesting until the end.

When was the last time you were invested in a Raider game from start to finish? Better yet, when was the last time the Raiders had a QB capable of making plays no matter the circumstance?

Good luck getting Palmer to keep a play alive the second the O-line can’t hold its blocks. Today Pryor ran for 49 yards in addition to the 150 he threw for. That’s the type of production an offensively challenged team like Oakland needs in this modern NFL. Especially when Darren McFadden is still being forced to run in a system his talents don’t fit. But that should hopefully change soon enough.

While this season was a lost cause the future looks bright given what we saw today. There was never any reason for the Raiders to be as woeful as they’ve been on offense this year. For all the heat Greg Knapp has taken this season he did do a good job of having his young QB ready to go with a game plan that maximized his skills. Still, it is too little too late.

Going forward it will be on the coaches to develop a scheme that gets the most out of the weapons available. Sticking to some system just because it is has had success elsewhere proved to be one of the biggest reasons why Coach Allen is going into the offseason with a 4-12 record as a head coach. Clearly Pryor can play in this league and there is no reason why he should be buried beneath the likes of Matt Leinart on and NFL depth chart ever again.

So until we see our Silver and Black again let’s, for the moment, enjoy the simple pleasure that is watching one of Al’s handpicked talents show the world there’s still a football pulse in the East Bay. This was a forgettable season but that doesn’t mean there weren’t moments worth remembering. Perhaps we can one day say we remember when Pryor made his first NFL start. That would imply he’s made more since and has found even more success. Hey…hope is all we’ve got…once again…

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Yep. This pretty much sums up the season. All year the motto of the 2012 Oakland Raiders has been patience. So what exactly are we waiting for with one game left and absolutely nothing to play for?

Are we waiting for Greg Knapp to get a clue? That quite clearly is never going to happen. Today’s 17-6 loss to the Carolina Panthers marked two straight games in which the Raiders have failed to find the end zone. How is that progress?

Knapp has proven himself to be more unqualified than Norv Turner. Darren McFadden and the Raiders rushing attack was back to its usual ineffective state under the drunken eye of Knapp. But please, remind us all how it takes five plus years to get accustomed to the zone scheme. It’s not like this is pro football where winning is the bottom line.

Twice in third and short scenarios in the first half Knapp dialed up a sweep and a roll out pass. The end result was McFadden getting stuffed behind the line in the former and Carson Palmer being knocked out of the game in the latter. Both play calls were highly questionable and the loss of Palmer all but doomed this contest.

Congrats, Knapp. You’ve been able to sabotage this season in every way imaginable.

Are we still waiting for the defense to mysteriously evolve into a top tier unit despite having more personnel turnover than the management of a failed hedge fund? Hey, at least Jason Tarver’s unit has shown real progress in consecutive weeks. Sure, there were plenty of blown assignments today but at least you saw a group of men who cared and a coach showing real emotion.

With regards to the league, are we still expecting the NFL to hold its official accountable? If so the league office has plenty of game tape to review this week.

Cam Newton committed two heinous sins the likes of which would have had most any man ejected from an NFL contest. First Newton kicked Tommy Kelly then he bumped an official. Not only was Newton not ejected but he managed to find some reason to sulk for the better part of an afternoon in which his team won. Oh, but Kelly was shown the shower. Shame on him for not taking his kicking from a marketable NF LQB like a man…I guess…

We already knew this game was going to be a long shot for the Raiders to win. Never mind the season-long Greg Knapp hangover. This team has now lost ten straight in the Eastern Time zone.

We also knew that there was no chance Knapp’s offense would ever improve. Last week against Kansas City was really rock bottom. The win just masked it. Today every one of Oakland’s offensive deficiencies was on display.

Stalled drives in the red zone, completely incompetent play design and a completely unprepared backup quarterback as well. If Matt Leinart was supposed to be the guy versed in Knapp’s scheme then all we need to know of his ability to coordinate an NFL offense was on display is stunningly ugly fashion.

I’m not even going to act like Greg Knapp alone is the reason why this season has fallen apart like strip mall sushi. But I will say that games like today illustrate just how impossible it is to win with an anemic and incompetent offense. In a game decided by two scores the Raiders failed on three separate occasions to get the ball in the end zone once in the red zone. You do the math.

Reggie McKenzie if you somehow think Knapp deserves another shot then you are more clueless than he is. Not every loss can be blamed on Knapp but this game today certainly deserves to by on his record and not that of Dennis Allen.

So…what now are we going to be told to wait for?

There is one game left. Nothing to play for and an entire season pissed away for the sake of doing things the new Raider way. For what? The old Raider way might not have been working but it wasn’t this wretched. Hue Jackson found a way to work with what he had. What is Knapp’s excuse now?

We’ve hand an entire season to see progress. At least Tarver can hang his hat on getting the most out of a scab defense. What can Knapp brag on besides making a once explosive offense into a glorified setup unit for Shane Lechler?

Thanks for nothing, Knapp. This loss belongs to you.

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Beating these lowly Kansas City Chiefs will never be anything to brag about. But it still feels good to see the Arrowhead Addicts suffer at the hands of the Oakland Raiders none the less.

Now keeping the Chiefs off the scoreboard will always be something to boast of even when their offense is a bigger mess than a Kardashian party with an open bar.

Today the worst scoring defense in the NFL played like the best scoring defense in the NFL. Until something truly odd occurs and a pro team registers a negative point total then a zero on the scoreboard will always be the symbol of a great afternoon. On this occasion it was Jason Tarver’s much maligned defense that took center stage by blanking the rival Chiefs 15-0 as the Raiders snapped their longest losing streak in five years.

Finally we saw the Oakland defensive line dominate the line of scrimmage as Brady Quinn was under pressure all day while Jamaal Charles was once again made more ineffective than a bible on a porn set.

Something else that has been rarer than a positive message from Bill Maher is the Raiders putting an effective running game on the field. That too was the case today as Darren McFadden eclipsed the 100-yard barrier for only the third time this season carrying the rock a career best 30 times for 110 yards.

The inspired effort of the defense combined with another banner day from Sebastian Janikowski was enough to keep the Raiders out of the top pick in the draft conversation for at least another two weeks. It was also well overdue considering how uninspired this team has played over the course of the last month and a half.

Finally the team’s best strength was on display as Run DMC and Mike Goodson ran all over the Chiefs. Of course since its Greg Knapp we’re talking about there was still much to be desired. Considering how one-sided this affair was its insulting that Oakland was kept out of the end zone instead settling for five Jano field goals. In many regards the Chiefs defense can also brag of their own shutout too.

It’s also insulting that Terrelle Pryor was given one token snap in which he inexplicably took the field on a definite passing down only to toss an errant throw. That won’t give Reggie McKenzie any idea of where his young QB stands in development and it surely won’t help a struggling offense hit pay dirt.

But that is all semantics. There is but one thing that matters on Sundays and today the Raiders did it.

Just win, baby!