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Silver Minings: Raiders can’t waste scoring opportunities in 2021

Lessons need to have been learned from 2020 on both offense and defense

Indianapolis Colts v Las Vegas Raiders
Jon Gruden, Derek Carr
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

We all know the defense has to take a big step forward for the Las Vegas Raiders to be a true playoff contender in 2021.

This stat serves as a strong reminder:

Ouch.

For the most part, the Las Vegas offense did its part in 2020. It scored on a lot of its drives and had had quality snaps. Yet, the Las Vegas defense couldn’t reward it with continued shoddy play, especially late in games.

That trend has to change this season for the Raiders to be competitive, especially late in the season, which has been a recent issue. Of course, it’s not all on the defense. The Raiders’ offense could have scored more in the red zone as shown here:

So, Jon Gruden’s team needs to make necessary tweaks on both sides of the ball to truly improve this season.

In other Raiders’ links:

  • McCoy is fired up: According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, new Raiders’ defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is ready to make his impact felt in Las Vegas.
  • Not a club you want to be part of: Raiders’ defensive end Clelin Ferrell is in danger of making some unwanted history.
  • Ruggs needs more targets: Counting rookie wife receivers in the past four seasons, seven 2020 rookie receivers were in the top eight of rookie targets. Raiders’ receiver Henry Ruggs III was nowhere near the top of the list. He was targeted a meager 43 times as a rookie in 2020.
  • Scout’s take: A former NFL scout was at the Raiders’ training camp recently and came away impressed.
  • Turn it up: The Raiders have a brand new house band for Allegiant Stadium. This is going to be fun.
  • Mask mandate: In an expected decision, the Raiders will follow Nevada’s mask mandate for indoor events during games this season.