Since returning to the city of Oakland from Los Angeles in 1995, the Raiders have had just three winning seasons, which came consecutively from 2000 to 2002. While passionate fans have patiently waited more than a decade for their resurgence, which still may be too strong of a word, the 2015 season may be offering the most hope since Super Bowl XXXVII against the Buccaneers in 2003.
After a 37-29 Week 7 rout of the Chargers which the score does not do full justice (the Raiders led 30-6 at halftime), Oakland equaled their entire 2014 win total of three and improved to 3-3 for 2015. They haven’t won more than four games in a season since 2011, and talk of relocation to Los Angeles continues incessantly in the background regardless of on-field performance. But there is indeed a deserved optimism in the team’s direction which has long been missing, perhaps since that Super Bowl blowout loss and the start of the decade-long coaching carousel which has hopefully reached its conclusion.
Second-year quarterback Derek Carr started all 16 regular season games in 2014, the first quarterback to do so for the team since 2002, and his sophomore season is likely to surpass the first in most crucial categories. After six games, he held an 11:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a 101.0 quarterback rating. Week 7 against the Chargers may have been the best we’ve seen of him yet, in which he threw for 77% accuracy, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 137.7 rating for the game.
Catching Carr’s passes for 133 yards against San Diego was Amari Cooper, who, with Carr, may confidently represent a new era for the Raiders regardless of whether the unremitting talk of Los Angeles comes to a head. Cooper, a rookie who has played in all six games so far, already has three 100-yard games – he’s the first rookie to accomplish this since Chicago’s Mike Ditka in 1961 – and topped 500 total yards on just 33 catches. While it is still early for heavy praise, especially on a rookie, Cooper has proven with speed and dynamism that he could be a pillar of the team’s offense for years to come, and durability will be crucial for him to establish a promising rookie season.
Longtime Raiders fans also know and love Charles Woodson, who at 39 years old continues to force spectacular turnovers and cement his legacy as one of the greatest defensive backs in NFL history. In seven games this year he’s already made five interceptions, totaling 65 for his career and tying him for fifth all-time with former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Ken Riley. If 2015 is indeed Woodson’s last season, it has already proven to be a memorable one which may have just one more milestone to come before its end.
They still may not be within a year’s range of returning to the postseason, especially as Peyton Manning and the Broncos remain atop the AFC West, but sustained success, which has eluded the headstrong Raiders since before the passing of owner Al Davis, may finally be finding its way back.
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