Raiders vs Patriots 2023 Week 6: Studs and Duds

Josh McDaniels - Dud 

The Raiders continue to win in spite of their head coach as this vaunted offensive guru has now put together a six-game streak in which his offense has not scored 20 points. Don’t let the safety at the end of the game fool you, this Raiders team is somehow 3-3 without the offense scoring 20 points and it’s not because of Josh McDaniels. 

There are issues all over this offense as the run game is struggling and there seems to be an inability to scheme Davante Adams open despite his track record. McDaniels has also failed to utilize Hunter Renfrow in this offense despite his previous success, especially in the red zone. This is a team that is awful in the red area and they do not utilize the short yardage specialist they have in the slot. 

Aside from personnel usage issues, McDaniels also clearly does not trust his offense or his quarterbacks to win games for him. Against Green Bay, he attempted a long field goal rather than go for it on fourth and short and did something nearly as bad on Sunday with under 3 minutes to go.

We understand that most folks would say to run the ball 3 times and punt to the opposing team after they have burned their timeouts, but the Raiders were up just 2 points and a Patriots field goal would cost them the game. He was lucky that the Raiders defense stepped up but this offensive “genius” of a coach doesn’t trust his offense to get 10 yards through the air to win the game. 

This conservative decision making along with the Raiders going an absurd 1-7 in the red zone which made the game far closer than it needed to be keeps McDaniels in the dud zone. If this Raiders offense can’t score 20 points against the 3rd-worst defense in the league in Chicago then that seat needs to get incredibly hot.