The Las Vegas Raiders looked poised to take a run at the playoffs during the 2023 season, however, after a midseason collapse the team looked destined for failure. But in the process of changing the coach and general manager, the team moved on to playing how we all knew they could.
In particular there were four games that stood out as missed opportunities.
Raiders 4 most brutal missed opportunities in 2023
Week 7: Raiders at Bears
The Raiders missed the mark on this game, particularly scoring field goals while the Bears came alive after struggling all season long. The Raiders defense played awful and the special teams kept giving up plays to allow for better field position.
Josh McDaniels was outcoached and the fans started revolting against the McDaniels regime. Fill-in QB Brian Hoyer threw two interceptions that led to points for the Bears. While this was an NFC game and largely didn't have playoff implications, having an extra win in the column going into December never hurts.
In particular, the Las Vegas running defense was atrocious. D'Onta Foreman rushed for two touchdowns while averaging nearly 6 yards-per-carry and then caught another one in the passing game. Tyson Bagent looked like Tom Brady, reading the defenses and making plays, and all of this culminated in one of the worst performances the Raiders had all season long and was a big miss when it came to a playoff tiebreaker.
Final Score: Bears 30, Raiders 12