Raiders’ Del Rio stresses urgency
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Urgency.
That is the word the Raiders have embraced since their loss to the Buffalo Bills, a defeat that came at the midway point of the season for a potential NFL playoff team.
After beating the Miami Dolphins 27-24 a day earlier, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio made that point again Monday.
“We’ve got very little margin for error,” said Del Rio said after his team improved to 4-5. “We need to get it rolling now, so urgency needs to pick up.”
Sunday night’s game was the Raiders’ first game in the season’s second half — and helped right a team that had lost five of its past six games. It also was the first game since Del Rio talked to his team about playing with more urgency.
Del Rio said he believes the Raiders have to win at least six of their final seven games to make the playoffs.
“When I talked to the team, I was very frank coming out of the first half (of the season),” Del Rio said. “I said it’s been my experience in this league that you typically have to get to 10 (wins) and that doesn’t always get it done. I think this year is one of those years where it’s very competitive throughout the league.”
The competitiveness lies in the AFC playoff hunt.
The Raiders are two games behind the first-place Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. A half-game behind the Raiders are the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers at 3-5.
The Raiders also are in the mix of a cluttered AFC wildcard chase. The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills currently lead the field with records of 5-3. The Raiders and eight other teams are within at least two games of Buffalo and Jacksonville.
Despite the unexpected 3-5 start, Del Rio sees the rest of the season as an opportunity to finish strong.
“The bottom line is you keep playing,” Del Rio said. “Keep improving. You want to get hot at the right time. For us, there’s no time like the present to get hot.”
Contact Chris Booker at cbooker@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Bookerc94 on Twitter.