It wasn’t that long ago that Las Vegas Raiders fans were calling for Josh McDaniels’ head. Amid several struggles, including a heavily scrutinized losing streak and a historically impotent shutout loss, things weren’t looking great. Through it all, McDaniels has overcome the adversity, and more importantly, it does appear the Raiders have turned the corner.
Josh McDaniels has the Las Vegas Raiders peaking right now
The expression “better late than never” could be the motto right now for this Raiders team. We all knew they had the talent and the potential, but the execution and discipline just weren’t there. More importantly, McDaniels has learned from his days in Denver to admit when he’s screwed up, showing maturity in the process. On top of that, he’s slowly learning to get out of his own way; his play-calling left a lot to be desired early on. Speaking to the media after the game, McDaniels highlighted the fact that his team has bought into his way of doing things. Well, the results speak for themselves.
“I think when you start out, you have to have an idea of what you want it to be like and what you want it to look like when you’re doing it right. And you never play a perfect game of football; it’s an imperfect game. But I think that the way we compete, how tough and physical were attempting to play in all three phases. Again, we ran the ball well. I thought we stopped the run [decently] today. All three of those things are what we point to when we talk about toughness. And so, I think our team has really bought in and believed in the way to try win that way. And I think you start to see some of the fruit of their labor here as we’re moving through the season.”
According to McDaniels, the Raiders were successful in all three phases.
The offense is clicking, and that’s putting it mildly. Josh Jacobs really is playing like the best running back in the league at the moment. The man wants to get paid, and he’ll likely be the most coveted free agent if the Raiders allow it. The connection between Derek Carr and Davante Adams is now quickly becoming an automatic one, which speaks to the elite level of talent Adams possesses. Oh, and don’t look now, but the Raiders have one of the best run-blocking offensive lines as well. Not too shabby, right?
Defensively, the head coach gave defensive coordinator Patrick Graham his flowers too. which were well-deserved. His unit neutralized the Chargers’ best two weapons in Keenan Allen (six receptions and 88 yards) and Austin Ekeler (10 carries and 35 yards). Obviously, that’s an oversimplified look at what the Raiders’ defense accomplished, but it still shows all three parts of the game are clicking at just the right time for McDaniels and his Raiders.
*Top Photo: NBC Sports/Boston