In week 15, the Oakland Raiders faced off against the San Diego Chargers. With the Tennessee Titans earning a win over the Kansas City Chiefs earlier in the afternoon, Oakland had a chance to retake first place in the AFC West, and clinch a playoff spot. So what happened? Did the Raiders win? Did San Diego pull off the upset? Here are the Oakland Raiders Week 15 takeaways.
Oakland Raiders Week 15 Takeaways
Raider Rush
The Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers 19-16, but they didn’t do it the normal way. Even though they ran the entire offense out of the shotgun, they still able to racked up 146 yards on the ground. Latavius Murray, Jalen Richard, and DeAndre Washington took turns carrying the ball, and they helped move the ball for the Raiders. The run game lifted the Raiders who struggled throughout the game in other areas.
Redzone Mistakes
Coming into this game, the Raiders had the longest run of successful redzone trips in the NFL. They hadn’t committed a turnover in the redzone in 56 attempts. However, the Raiders had two turnovers in the redzone in consecutive drives early against the Chargers.
Murray fumbled, and then quarterback Derek Carr threw an interception. Considering how close the game ended up being, they really could’ve used those six or even 14 points. Even late in the game, they settled for field goals. Maybe San Diego’s redzone defense is good, or maybe it’s Carr’s injury.
Gunshy
The peskiest of pesky nuisances for the Raiders has been their inability to line up under center. The Raiders claim Carr’s pinky is fine, but the Raiders haven’t lined up under center since Carr hurt it against the Carolina Panthers. The Raiders struggled in the redzone, and it was obvious that it was because they were strictly operating out of the shotgun.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Perry Riley forced a fumble and gave the Raiders outstanding field position. They got down to the one yard line, but they couldn’t get into the endzone. They ran twice, but since they were running from the shotgun, the Chargers were easily able to make the necessary plays.
Moving forward, the Raiders need to go back under center. They claim to have run plays under center in practice, but they’ll also need to be able to do so in games. They might have to travel to New England in the playoffs, and they’ll struggle if they have to completely play out of the shotgun.
