Raiders week 8 Report Card at Bills

Last week the Raiders seemed to find all the answers for their season long issues against Kansas City. With renewed vigor and hope for the playoff the Raiders faced off against the Buffalo Bills. Against a Bills team that currently holds the lead on them in the AFC playoff race the Raiders laid another egg.

Passing Offense

The Raiders having solved all their offensive woes in week 7, rediscovered them again in week 8. Carr passed for 313 yards but the vast majority of his passes were garbage dump offs. The Oakland passing game again went into Witness Protection putting up only 1 TD but offering up 2 INT’s.

The lone TD was a short pass to DeAndre Washington, a wash considering the fumble he had earlier in the game that was returned for a TD. Oakland opened the game hot with a 13 play drive for a score then decided to abandon what got them there. The results were everything they showed during their 4 game losing streak and the end result was no different.

Grade: F

The passing offense was flat out pathetic and the Raiders completed only 2 3rd down conversions after their opening drive the whole rest of the game. For some strange reason the Raiders stocked up on weapons and then decided it was best to neuter the offense. There is far too much talent on this team to only put up 14 points against the Bills with injuries in their secondary.

Rushing Offense

The rushing attack was once again mediocre, a suspended Marshawn Lynch didn’t help matters. The Raiders managed an embarrassing 54 yards on the ground in this game despite not being out of the game until the 4th quarter. The offensive line once again was dominated and showed no heart against a top tier rush defense.

This Raiders team was flat out embarrassed by the Bills on every single run play. The longest run of the day belonged to Jalen Richard who managed a whole 14 yards. 8 weeks into the season the Raiders still are not capable of running the ball despite huge money invested in their line.

Grade: F

When you rush for only 54 total yards and a 3.9 YPC average you have failed. There are some big names on this line that are getting paid at the top of their position to play like garbage. No way around that and there is no sense making excuses for them, you got paid now do your job!

Pass Defense

Tyrod Taylor was held to only 165 yards passing and a TD, so naturally the pass defense was phenomenal right? Wrong, he was 20 of 27 and moved the chains when he needed to. Dexter McDonald and TJ Carrie were beat regularly on 3rd down allowing the Bills to go 6 of 15 on 3rd downs.

Plain and simple the Raiders were without starters Karl Joseph and David Amerson as well as 3rd CB Gareon Conley. They were just not able to overcome those losses though Luani did play solid in Josephs absence and has earned more snaps over Keith McGill. To sum up the game Raiders DB’s made Andre Holmes look elite, that’s all you need to know.

Grade: D

The only reason this isn’t also an F is because the defense kept the game close despite being put in bad position time and again by the Offense. This loss isn’t on the defense but the reality is they weren’t good either, they just weren’t as bad as the offense. This seems to be the story of the 2017 season so far.

Run Defense

The Raiders allowed LeSean McCoy to run for 151 yards on only 27 carries for a staggering 5.6 yards per carry and a score. These numbers would have been much higher if not for Buffalo refusing to stick with the run when it was obvious the Raiders couldn’t or wouldn’t stop it. For some strange reason the Raiders never got their run defense back from the Kansas City game.

LeSean McCoy seemed to have a force field on him at all times rendering Oakland defenders incapable of tackling him. It was the type of effort that fans laugh to keep from crying about. This game was an absolute throw back to the good old days between 2003 and 2014 when the Raiders were a laughing stock.

Grade: F

This effort was pathetic and only minimized by the fact Buffalo didn’t run more.

Special Teams

Star punter Marquette King was clearly hindered by his groin injury and it affected his performance. The result was a season low average of 38.3 yards per punt for King in this game. King was hurt and muscled through it for the team, can’t knock him for that and he should be commended for putting the team first.

Giorgio Tavecchio didn’t attempt a FG in this game but was 2 for 2 on his extra point attempts. The return units seemed to feel it was their solemn duty to fail in this game as Richard fumbled a punt and Shalom Luani wiped out a monster return with a penalty. They just couldn’t get out of their own way in this game and it cost them the game.

Grade: C

The Richard fumble was a huge momentum swing as was the penalty to wipe out the big return when the offense desperately needed the help. All in all the grade was helped by the strong play of the gunners and Kings gutsy effort. Tavecchio was solid on XP’s but with the offense so inept we have no idea if he can actually make field goals.

Coaching

This is going to be short and not so sweet.

The coaches had 10 days to prepare for this game and came out and looked completely incompetent. It’s time for team to realize that after the season Jack Del Rio and his coaches have got to go. They are flat out holding this team back, they cannot scheme or adjust and it’s pathetic.

Grade: F

The Raiders coaches far too often look completely incapable of putting together a solid game plan on either side of the ball. Todd Downing is clearly neutering the offense in his attempt to prove he can be an NFL level coordinator. Spoiler alert he has only shown the ability to do so in 3 total games out of 8 this year.

Ken Norton Jr. showed once again he still has no clue what he is doing. The coaching staff did a good job of getting the team out of the gutters but their ineptness has driven the Raiders right back into laughing stock territory. Fans want to believe but the coaches refuse to make changes or accept that their way is not working.