As weird as it sounds, the Oakland Raiders seem to have a homefield disadvantage. The Silver and Black are 1-2 so far this season when playing at home. The Raiders lost their home games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons, and barely scraped by with a win against the San Diego Chargers. Meanwhile, they’ve defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, and New Orleans Saints on the road. The Raider Nation is present at every game, all around the NFL, so why are the Raiders struggling at home?
The Oakland Raiders vs. Home Games
Statistical Differences
Believe it or not, the statistics at home and on the road are very different for the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders average about 20 more rushing yards a game on the road. Oakland’s defense has sacked and intercepted the quarterback more on the road, and six of the seven sacks that Derek Carr has taken have taken place at home.
Both of Sebastian Janikowski‘s misses have taken place in Oakland this year, and Marquette King has only landed three punts inside the twenty at home. Carr averages more passing yards at home, but he’s also thrown more interceptions there.
The Raiders seem to play better on the road, and that’s good because five of the remaining nine games will take place away from the bay area. The team looks better on the road, and nobody can figure out why. The Raiders have worn both jerseys on the road, and it hasn’t effected their performance at all. So what is it?
Coincidence, Not Causation
Frankly, the Chiefs, Chargers, and Falcons are all good teams. It wouldn’t surprise anyone to see any of these teams make the playoffs, even after San Diego’s slow start. Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Julio Jones are wrecking the NFL, and the Kansas City Chiefs have rebounded from their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. These three teams are currently a combined 11-9 on the season.
Meanwhile, the teams that the Raiders have traveled to play haven’t been all that great. The Titans, Ravens, Jaguars, and Saints are a combined 10-16. That’s right, these four teams have fewer wins and more losses than the three teams the Raiders have hosted. The Raiders may be 1-2 at home, but they’re actually 0-2 against teams with a winning record.
That’s not to say that the Raiders are a bad team, only that they’ve hosted some tough opponents in Oakland. Unfortunately, that’s not going to change any time soon. The Raiders will host the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, and Carolina Panthers before the season is done. While two of those teams aren’t very good right now, it’s worth noting than Andrew Luck and Cam Newton are both still very dangerous quarterbacks.
So is the Coliseum cursed? Is the looming move stirring up negative energy in the bay area, causing the Raiders to lose? Who knows. All that anyone knows for sure is that the Raiders only have four home games left (their game against the Houston Texans will take place in Mexico), and if the Raiders are serious about being contenders, they’ll need to win as many as they can.
