Across the NFL, the bye week is considered an opportunity to regroup and to reassess — to formulate means that focus on the positives while minimizing the negatives that have occurred.
For the Las Vegas Raiders (1-4), who will host the Houston Texans (1-3-1) on Sunday, their bye should have provided ample time to reinforce just how close they’ve been to tasting victory far more than they actually have. Each of the Raiders’ four losses have come by one score, with the average margin of defeat a frustratingly scant 3.5 points per game.
From a macro perspective, close losses speak to a lack of consistency.
The Raiders lost in overtime to the Arizona Cardinals, rallied from a 14-point deficit only to fail at converting a two-point conversion attempt with 74 seconds left against the Tennessee Titans and were another late two-point conversion away from defeating the Kansas City Chiefs. They have been on the doorstep of success with obvious frequency, yet have lacked execution at critical junctures.
“I know it’s been five games and we’re trying to build that consistency. It’s going to start in practice,” Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “I can’t stress that enough.
“We got to become more consistent out there on the field because there have been some good quarters of football. But again, nobody cares about that. You’ve got to string together 60 minutes or 70 minutes — if you’re thinking about the Arizona game. So, what I do is go back to the drawing board and make sure we get practices as close to game reality as possible and just keep improving from there.”
One positive development of late for the Raiders is the effectiveness of the rushing attack. After averaging 80 yards per game on the ground through the first three weeks, the Raiders combined for 367 rushing yards against the Denver Broncos and Chiefs while splitting those two contests.
For all the conversations preaching consistency, the Raiders have seen it in the ground game.
“Consistency in practice is a big part of it,” Raiders offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi said. “I think these guys consistently perform well in practice on Wednesdays and Thursdays in pads and really focusing on their assignments.”
The running game was integral to the Texans in recording their first victory on the season just prior to their bye. Rookie running back Dameon Pierce rushed for 99 yards and the game’s lone touchdown in a 13-6 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 9.
One week after producing a career-high 131 yards against the Chargers, Pierce recorded a career-high 26 carries as the Texans notched their ninth consecutive win over Jacksonville. Pierce averaged 13 carries in Weeks 1 and 2 against the Indianapolis Colts and Broncos.
“I think your starting tailback can handle 26 plays,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said. “Most lead running backs can handle that. As I see it if you’re a running football team, your lead tailback needs to have over 20 carries in an ideal world. When he was getting 10, we said it wasn’t enough.
“I’m just going from there. Is that too much? No quick answer.”
–Field Level Media
