LAS VEGAS–The Raiders desperately need a win Monday night, or the Caleb Williams sweepstakes might as well begin.
To avoid further talk of Josh McDaniels being on the hot seat, what to do with a still at the peak of his powers Davante Adams and tying the lowly Denver Broncos for last place in the AFC West, the Raiders need to defeat a team they haven’t beaten since 1987.
That took place two cities and 36 years ago, when the Los Angeles Raiders shutout the Packers at Lambeu Field, 20-0. Since then, Green Bay owns the Raiders, beating them 8 times in a row.
It remains to be seen if Jordan Love truly fills the shoes of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, but he’s playing well in his first season as the starter, as he’s currently 9th in passing TDs, despite not playing his 5th game yet.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Garoppolo is tied for the most interceptions in the NFL with 6–this, despite the fact that Garoppolo has played 2 fewer games than the other 3 quarterbacks who’ve thrown as many as Garoppolo. He’ll be all by himself atop the league if he throws another one Monday night.
When last seen, Garoppolo found some success with Josh McDaniels spreading the offense open, with several 4 and 5 receiver sets. Garoppolo threw for his first 300-yard game as a Raider, but three costly interceptions led to the team losing their home opener at Allegiant Stadium to the Steelers.
For the Raiders to win tonight, they’ll need Garoppolo to get the ball to his productive receivers, Adams, Meyers and the rest of the receiving core–minus the turnovers.
Adams, who is playing his former team for the first time, continues to play at an All Pro level. Perhaps still the best route runner in the league, Adams is on pace for his 3rd straight 1,500 yard season.
Despite continuing his individual brilliance however, Adams let reporters know weeks ago after the home opener loss against Pittsburgh that he doesn’t “Have time for this s**t.”
Who can blame him? He and Maxx Crosby are playing like championship-caliber players but aren’t receiving enough help.
Adams, who turns 31 on Christmas Eve, journeyed to Las Vegas to play with his friend and college quarterback Derek Carr, a huge contract and a chance to play for his childhood team.
Carr is now gone and if the team isn’t viable and competitive in the AFC, then why would he want to spend the remainder of his prime in Las Vegas? Few receivers remain as productive as they head into their mid-30s.
Adams knows his peak is now and doesn’t have time for a rebuild. If the Raiders continue to lose, expect rumblings of trade rumors to swirl abound before the trade deadline at the end of the month.
Adams will show up, and Jakobi Meyers will probably accompany him. However, there is one Raider the team needs to return to form more than any other–and that’s Josh Jacobs.
While it’d also be nice to incorporate Hunter Renfrow into the offense, Jakobi Meyers has offset some of the production lost by Renfrow.
Jacobs, who led the NFL in rushing last season, sees. very few creases or holes to run through. Several times throughout the season, Jacobs will break a few tackles just for a yard or two gain. Seldom has he made it to the line of scrimmage untouched and unchallenged.
Some of Jacob’s struggles fall on him. Missing training camp and pre season did not help, as he looks a bit sluggish and rusty compared to how he looked in 2022.
Some of it however, has just been bad protection and opposing defenses not respecting the arm of Garoppolo.
Garoppolo was able to win often in San Francisco because of a great running game–right now the Raiders rank dead last in the NFL in rushing yards per game. The Raiders must re-establish their rushing attack at or near the levels of last season with Jacobs or they’ll quickly become dead in the water.
The Packers and Jordan Love aren’t a layup, but it’s a winnable game for the Raiders. To win it, Garoppolo must cut down on his mistakes and Josh Jacobs and the offensive line need to produce.
This team still has pieces on offense to be far better than they’ve been thus far–having yet to produce 20 points in a single game.
However if they don’t start tonight, discontent from Raider Nation only grows and Mark Davis is only another loss or two in a row away before he may have to start really considering things–like a true rebuild.
Moving from Carr to Garoppolo and Gruden to eventually McDaniels showed that Davis wanted to remain competitive and give Las Vegans their first home playoff game as soon as possible. The Raiders avoided a true restart.
With a potential generational quarterback playing 280 miles away every Saturday in Los Angeles in Caleb Williams, they might want to seriously consider that hard reset button if the losing continues tonight.
