Las Vegas Raiders offense needs to erase second half woes in 2020
By Evan Groat
Jon Gruden has to improve his playcalling
It’s a well known fact that Jon Gruden likes to script his offensive game plans early in games, and to his credit, it was a relatively effective strategy in 2019. According to teamrankings.com, the Raiders ranked 11th in the league in first quarter scoring average with 5.3 points per game.
That ranking improved to 10th overall when you consider the entire first half scoring average of 12.4 points per game. Those aren’t gaudy numbers by any means, but certainly it’s enough to keep you in games going into the second half.
And that is where the big problem lies, the second half.
Gruden failed to make the proper halftime adjustments down the stretch in 2019, and the offense became stagnant and predictable.
During a crucial four-game stretch from Week 12 to 15, with their playoff hopes in the balance, the offense sputtered in the second half of games, getting outscored 78-9 in that span. The lack of scoring contributed to a four-game losing streak, and it was really the difference between this team being a playoff team, and them not being one.
In two of those games, against the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Raiders either led, or were tied at halftime, only to see the lead vanish without putting up points in the second half. Things were especially bad in the third quarter, where the Raiders scored an average of 1.7 points per game, ranking them dead last in the league.
Overall in the second half of games, the Raiders ranked 31st in scoring with 7.2 points.
This absolutely can not be the case in 2020, and with the added weapons on offense, it should not be. Gruden has more game breakers at disposal, as guys like Lynn Bowden Jr and Henry Ruggs III are match up nightmares, and should play a big role in the offense as rookies in 2020.
Next. 4 questions for the Las Vegas Raiders defense entering 2020. dark
Gruden is known as an offense guru, and he even gets credit for having a major influence on some of the games great, young offensive minds like Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. There should be no excuses for this offense in 2020, and with Gruden having his best cast of weapons he has had since returning, he needs him stellar playcalling to expand beyond just the first two quarters.