Raiders at Bills 2023 Week 2: Studs and Duds

Raiders Duds: Josh McDaniels and his Vaunted Offense

The Raiders and Mark Davis hired Josh McDaniels thinking they were getting a brilliant offensive mind and a genius who would take their offense to the next level. In 2022 the unit was just outside the top 10 but through two weeks of the 2023 season, the Raiders have scored just 26 total points and are near the bottom of the league in total yards.

There has been no semblance of a run game so far, and there has been no vertical element to the passing game.

We were told that McDaniels needed players who understood his offense, and that his scheme is one of the hardest in the league to learn, so perhaps patience is needed at this time. We were also told that a change at quarterback would help alleviate some of the issues that the offense had last season, but many of the same problems are occurring this year as well.

The other issue is a lack of usage for players that we believed would be difference-makers this season. After an injury-plagued 2022, Hunter Renfrow was expected to have a sizable role in the offense, but he has just one reception and one target through two games. Even with Meyers sidelined, Renfrow barely registered a look from his quarterback.

Rookie tight end Michael Mayer was a high-round draft pick, and we expected him to be involved in the offense, but he also has just one target and one reception through two games. We know that there are other stars on this offense, so it's not realistic to expect Mayer to be the focal point, but we did expect a bit more usage for the youngster out of Notre Dame.

At this point, we have no choice but to be patient with McDaniels and his offense, but things don't get any easier with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to town on Sunday night. If McDaniels and his system fail yet again, what will the excuse be this time? Raider Nation has been patient for a long time but if things continue like this, the calls for a new head coach may get too loud to ignore