The Las Vegas Raiders did something they haven’t done in years, they actually blew out a team in an all-around display of dominance.
The Silver and Black showed on Sunday that they are finally ready to compete with the powerhouses of the NFL. You might be asking how does crushing a 3-5 team back that statement up? There were multiple areas in the game that showed just that.
What Week 10’s Blowout Means For The Raiders
Feasting on a team like the Denver Broncos shows they were the better team and they didn’t play down to the level of the inferior teams. As Raider Nation is all too familiar with, they have done this for years. Playing this type of football has often led to close contests with teams that otherwise, had no business hanging around. In case you’re wondering, the last time the Raiders had a blow out this big was in 2017 against the Jets.
If Jon Gruden’s squad was to be taken seriously, they have to step up and defeat inferior NFL teams and in a convincing fashion. This particular blowout was a good start, but it shouldn’t be the last one when you look at the remaining schedule.
Josh Jacobs is Starting to Heat Up
Something that should bring a smile to Raider Nation is that Josh Jacobs is showing what he can do in this current stretch. After struggling in the early part of the season, everything’s clicking now for last year’s first-round pick. If you watched the last two games, you can see Jacobs is getting better each game. Sunday was a season-high for this year in a couple of stats. One of them is his 5.8 yard-per-attempt average, which to some seemed like a problem.
Jacobs also rushed for over 100 yards for just the second time in 2020, something that might have raised some concern. The problem with using that stat is that you’re not looking at the background data. Every team that plays the Raiders this year knows they are going to run.
By now, this should be obvious, the Raiders want to run the ball. Especially on first down, Las Vegas is running the ball 60 percent of the time while the reason for the NFL is at 50. So teams are stacking the box against him and he still ranks fourth in the whole NFL in rushing.
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Carr is the quarterback the Raiders need
Carr is starting to understand what he needs to do to be a great quarterback. In season’s past, he tried too hard when his surrounding cast struggled, something that wound up hurting the team. If you watched Sunday’s game, you can notice the growth as takes what the defense gives him now. His stat line does not read the way he played because of drops his wide receiver corps made. Against the Broncos, he understood that the running game was taking over and just went with it, making the throws he needed to make.
This game should just be a start for the Raiders and a jumping-off point for a playoff push. We could argue the Silver and Black is putting the NFL on notice. Fact is, they’re just getting started but they shouldn’t get too ahead of themselves. The upcoming matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs is huge, they could sweep the defending champions in 2020. Even more impressive would be the domination of the AFC West at 4-0 if they can pull it off.
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*Top Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports