Last season, the Raiders won every game in which their Time of Possession (TOP) was equal to or greater than 33 minutes. And, if the Arizona game is tossed out (lost at the end by a fluke) then 31 minutes(!) TOP suffices to insure the win. This is a remarkable statistic. Pondering this phenomenon, one conclusion is that our Defense, which is Big and Fast, does exceptionally well when rested and proportionately less well as the team's TOP diminishes ... and also, of course, when our Offense is clicking (even reasonably well) we win the game.

The Data:

Tenn   L          28.56  (Raiders TOP)

StL      W        36.49              "

Ariz     L          32.58              "

Hou    L          30.31              "

SD      W        27.14              "

SF       L          26.39              "

Den    W        38.39              "

Sea     W        36.04              "

KC      W        29.43              "

Pit       L          27.13              "

Mia      L          18.22              "

SD      W        38.39              "

Jac      L          30.05              "

Den    W        33.57              "

Ind      L          30.01              "

KC      W        33.28              "

I haven't compared our division rivals, but suspect that Ball Control is a more critical factor for Oakland than most other teams.