Raiders Round-Up Week 2: "They are Who We Thought They Were"

-Mike Mueller, Contributor 

Riding high off of their one point victory against the Denver Broncos, the Raiders faced a much tougher task this week, going up to Orchard Park and playing a Buffalo Bills team looking for revenge after a stunning loss to the Jets.

The game started about as well as the Raiders could have hoped. The opening drive went for a touchdown, a 16 yard touchdown throw from Jimmy Garoppolo to Davonte Adams, and then the Raiders forced the Bills to a 3-and-out. 

Unfortunately, things went south very quickly after that. An interception on the next drive led to a short field for the Bills, who scored a touchdown, tying  the game at 7-7. A bad Raiders drive after that gave Buffalo another short field and they took advantage again with another touchdown. 

The Raiders secondary was exploited all game, and by halftime, the lead had stretched to 21-10. 

At halftime, Josh McDaniels probably tried his best to fire up the troops, reminding them why you play the game, but it fell on deaf ears, as the Bills came out and scored on their opening drive of the second half. A 28-10 lead closed the books on any chances the raiders had of making a comeback, and the game mercifully ended at 38-10. 

For the Raiders, the loss wasn’t the concerning part. Las Vegas is who we thought they were. The secondary is horrendous, the offense is still figuring themselves out, but what’s concerning is the areas of the game that we should be strong in… were also horrible. Josh Jacobs rushed for -2 yards (yes you read that right), and the defensive line, despite getting 2 sacks, gave up 183 yards on the ground. The offensive and defensive line is where the Raiders should excel, and they got blown out in every facet of the game.

It is worth noting that the Raiders got the short end of the stick on a few critical calls, both on offense and defense, but that would, at best, give us a 14 point swing. From a “moral victory” standpoint, a 14 point loss is better than a 28 point loss, but it’s clear that the Raiders have a lot to work out in practice. 

Realistically speaking, the Raiders are an average team with an above-average schedule, in terms of difficulty. The idea of making the playoffs is a pipe dream, but if we want to consider this season a success, we need to take care of the games we SHOULD win, and find a way to compete in the games we are likely to lose. 

Next week will be a great litmus test for the Silver and Black, as the Raiders take on long time rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, another team trying to find their identity. If the Raiders can win, or at least keep the game extremely close, they should be able to have a mediocre year. If they take another loss like they had against the bills, it’s going to be a very long season.