Oakland Raiders: 5 players who must be better in Week 5

OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 15: Jalen Richard #30 of the Oakland Raiders rushes with the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 15, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Don Feria/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 15: Jalen Richard #30 of the Oakland Raiders rushes with the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 15, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Don Feria/Getty Images)
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OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 30: MattMcCrane #3 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after he kicked a 28 yard field goal in overtime to defeat the Cleveland Browns 45-42 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 30, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 30: MattMcCrane #3 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after he kicked a 28 yard field goal in overtime to defeat the Cleveland Browns 45-42 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 30, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Matt McCrane

The Raiders signed Matt McCrane the week of the Cleveland Browns game, so it is very understanding that he would be nervous, especially having never kicked in an NFL regular season game before. Hopefully for McCrane, those nerves are now gone, because the Raiders cannot afford for him to miss two field goals in a game like he did on Sunday.

Yes, I know he hit the game-winner, but it was from 29-yards out, and not from the dirt. McCrane showed during his time at Kansas State that he has the talent to make kicks from well outside the 40-plus yard range, and may have to do so on a Raiders team that has struggled to get into the end zone this season, outside of last weekend.

The kicking job for the Raiders has had way too many injuries this season, and the team is looking for some stability from the position. Maybe McCrane is the answer, but he is going to have to be a lot more accurate moving forward if Raider Nation is going to be comfortable with him kicking in high pressure situations.

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