The Las Vegas Raiders experienced another tough loss in Week 9 against Jacksonville, and it makes you wonder if it’s time to blow it up.
It continues to be the same story for a new regime that came to power this offseason. After an underwhelming start, general manager Dave Ziegler stood in front of the press and said that he was “impressed” with the progress of Josh McDaniels’ squad. That remark was met with a swift and straightforward reaction by Raider Nation.
Impressed by the blown leads this season, or perhaps impressed with the play of Patrick Graham’s defense?
Before the season, there were, at the very least, playoff aspirations. Fans were hoping their team would pick up where Jon Gruden and Rich Bisaccia’s Raiders left off last season in Cincinnati. Instead, this current team looks like it’s making a run, but a run to the top pick in next year’s NFL draft.
Harsh? Perhaps. Deserved? At this point, yes, it is. After last week’s shutout loss to the New Orleans Saints, McDaniels preached about completing a full game, playing the full 60 minutes. Well, the opposite occurred. Despite heading into halftime with a 20-10 score, McDaniels’ offense took the foot off the pedal, and Graham’s defense started getting picked apart by Trevor Lawrence and got punched in the mouth by Travis Etienne.
In the process, the Raiders also lost Divine Deablo.