Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis was in the news all week, not for his on-field product but for another reason. Apparently, he had female companionship for Sunday’s game, and the internet did the rest. On Thursday, hip-hop legend Ice Cube was in attendance with Davis at Sofi Stadium, but that doesn’t make for headlines. On the other hand, Davis’s team is another matter entirely.
Is Mark Davis seeing the same thing that the rest of us are?
Just when things seemed to be on the upswing, the Raiders collapsed yet again. Even when the Raiders were winning, many fans and analysts were pointing out concerns. The most egregious example is head coach Josh McDaniels’ questionable decision-making. McDaniels seemed to overcomplicate things when they didn’t need to be. We can even trace some of the Raiders’ problems to their offseason workouts and training camp. It literally took a few regular-season games for the head coach to realize what he had in Josh Jacobs. That alone merits tons of criticism; how do you not recognize talent on your own squad?
The coaching staff in general has let down this team and, by extension, their fans. Take these three games, for example: Week 2 (Arizona Cardinals), Week 8 (Jacksonville Jaguars), and Week 14 (L.A. Rams). In those three games, the Raiders were outscored by a margin of 40-3 in their respective fourth quarters: 16-0, 10-0, and 14-32.
The Raiders were trending towards a win against those opponents heading into the fourth quarter. It’s a recurring theme for this team, and that’s the inability to finish off opponents. Who is responsible for this? There’s no way that Mark Davis sees this as “progress,” right?
Thursday Night Football should be the final death knell, but it won’t be…
Looking at McDaniels’ play design on Thursday; it was obvious he went full conversative to protect the lead. When it works, it’s fine. When it doesn’t, it looks like a boneheaded decision, and then you have everyone second-guessing you. Take Davante Adams, for example. In the first half, Adams obliterated Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey on two beautiful completions. It was obvious that Adams was going to put on a clinic. Well, as you might’ve guessed, Adams got zero looks in the second half. Let that sink in, that’s zero targets for No. 17.
Jacobs was doing fine, but if the passing game was working, why completely abandon it? Elite NFL teams find a weakness, exploit it, and then step on their opponents’ throats. McDaniels’ squad shouldn’t have been in a position to allow a quarterback who had just joined the Rams 48 hours earlier to execute a game-winning drive. People are complaining about the dubious officiating, which is fair, but the Raiders could’ve easily gone up two touchdowns in this one and would’ve cruised to a victory. Davis has made it clear he supports McDaniels; that’s not a surprise. What else is he supposed to do? Even so, there’s no way he isn’t seeing the horrendous decision-making the entire NFL world is witnessing right now.
*Top Photo: Outkick