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Daniel Carlson

It was not a good finish to the year for Carlson, who had another costly miss against the Broncos. On the season Carlson was 19 of 26, and six of his seven misses came after Week 7.

After being released by the Vikings a year ago, Carlson signed on with the Raiders in 2018 and was solid for them to finish the season. Now it looks as if the Raiders could be looking for another kicker to compete with Carlson this offseason.

Red Zone Offense

Across the first three possessions of the game, the Raiders traveled into the red zone and each time were not able to convert excellent positioning into a touchdown, walking away with just three points. That is not the proper recipe for a playoff caliber team.

Carlson missed a field goal on the first trip and Alec Ingold was stuffed on the third trip. In support of the offense it did look like the refs blew the call on the replay. The ball appeared to cross the plane on second effort, but the ruling was not reversed.

Injuries to Foster Moreau and Josh Jacobs were a big reason for the struggles in the red zone as of late. Moreau was a friendly target for Carr near the goal line and Jacobs is excellent in short yardage situations with his ability to leap over the pile if needed.

The Raiders ranked 22nd in the league in red zone scoring percentage, scoring touchdowns at a clip of 52.8 percent. In the last three games of the season that number dropped to 30 percent (31st in the league).

Zay Jones and Marcel Ateman

Each was given a golden opportunity to carve out a role for themselves with a weak group of wide receivers, and neither was able to seize the moment.

Driving before the first half ended, Carr hooked up with Ateman for a gain of 20 yards, but he coughed it up in Denver territory. The turnover was costly, as five plays later the Broncos took a 10-3 lead into the half.

Zay Jones spent 10 weeks with the Raiders and caught 20 passes for 147 yards. Ateman, who spent some of the season on the practice squad and some on the 53-man roster, was often inactive on game day. In the four games he did play, he caught only 5 balls for 116 yards.

Wide receiver is a big, big need for the Raiders in 2020.