2020 Las Vegas Raiders: Better record, same disappointing result
By Kenny King
The breakdown of the Raiders season begins
In Week 12, the Raiders traveled to Atlanta to face the then-3-7 Falcons, whose defense was allowing 25 points per game. The Raiders entered the game initially looking strong on defense, but the offense’s inability to jump-start the run game, and costly turnovers by Carr Jacobs, put the Raiders out of scoring position on multiple drives.
The defense’s inability to stop the run further added to the desecration and the Falcons ended up victorious by a large margin at 43-6.
The following week, the Raiders traveled to New Jersey to face the 0-11 New York Jets, a team that they faced in Week 12 of the 2019 season and were beaten 34-3. The Raiders were heavily favored in this matchup, and once again made a team with a losing record look like a Pro Bowl roster.
Jets quarterback, Sam Darnold was able to move the ball downfield at will using both his arm and legs as the Raiders defense looked lost. The lone bright spot of the defense that game was 2nd-year EDGE Clelin Ferrell, who accounted for two strip-sacks that game. The Raiders’ offense was in and out of tempo and came up huge when it mattered when in the final seconds of the game, as Carr read the defense in an all-out blitz and audibled to Henry Ruggs to run a slant and go to seal the walk-off win.
The Raiders, carrying an emotional win under their belt, returned home for a three-game stretch, and they ended up losing three straight. Las Vegas needed to beat the Indianapolis Colts to strengthen their odds to make the playoffs, and once again, the defense allowed the Colts to control the playing field.
The team’s inability to tackle, cover and stop scoring drives was highlighted by the fact that the Colts only punted once in the game. The outcome of this game would have serious ramifications on the team, as well as the playoff hopes.