WHAT DID WE LEARN ABOUT THE RAIDERS?
Don’t look now, but the Raiders are within striking distance of the AFC West title. They had it easy this week, getting to host the winless Bengals in the Black Hole. It wasn’t the blowout that many football pundits had anticipated, but the Raiders won by a score of 17-10.
Josh Jacobs paved the way to victory, rushing for 112 yards on 23 carries. No Raiders receiver went for over 100 yards, but several had good games. Derek Carr threw for 292 yards, a touchdown, and a pick while being sacked three times. He’s been having a respectable 2019 campaign.
The defense only allowed ten points and sacked rookie Ryan Finley five times while picking him off once and forcing him to lose a fumble. They did get gashed on the ground by Joe Mixon, who had 86 yards rushing and the Bengals’ only touchdown of the afternoon.
While I understand people hyping up the Raiders due to them exceeding expectations this year, only putting up 17 points against a historically bad Bengals defense might be a bit of a red flag for them moving forward. Let’s see how they perform against some tougher team in the brightest of spotlights down the stretch.
All of that being said, the Raiders are in prime position to make the playoffs this year and their schedule is favorable for sure. Next up, they face the New York Jets on the road in the early window of games.