K.C. game would be good time for an offensive renaissance
Lynch is 24th in the league in rushing, and no Raiders running back has eclipsed 100 yards this season. Twenty-six quarterbacks have thrown for 300 or more yards in a game this season; Derek Carr, who had four such games last year, is not one of them.
Those numbers might seem arbitrary if the Raiders were winning, but the offense has averaged just more than 13 points in four straight losses. The Raiders scored 45 points in their Week 2 win over the Jets and have totaled 53 points in the four games since then.
So, yes, Downing hears the doubters. But he said he also sees positives where others might not.
“When you look at the tape, you can see that we’re so close on so many things,” Downing said. “I know that sounds cliche and I know that sounds like someone sitting up here and trying to give you the rose-colored glasses, but it’s the truth.
“We know that we’re just this close to making a couple more plays each game and being able to come out on top and feeling like we put together a good product.”
The product has seemed disjointed lately, for various reasons. The Raiders’ ground game went nowhere in Weeks 3 and 4. Their passing numbers trailed off the next two weeks, including the Oct. 8 game Carr missed with a transverse process fracture in his back. Carr is throwing fewer deep balls this year and getting sacked more often. Receiver Amari Cooper has gone stretches without being involved and had a couple of significant gains that were wiped out by penalties Sunday.
Mix in seven turnovers in the past four games and Oakland’s offense is averaging a league-low 54 plays per game, 11.5 less than last season. Pointing to the play count, Downing said, “It’s hard to empty the call sheet and work on all the things that you practice if you don’t get the reps in the game to do so.”
It has also kept the Raiders from generating much of a rhythm.
“We’re just not starting as fast,” center Rodney Hudson said. “Starting faster helps that, and putting together a longer (first) drive.”
Hudson pointed to the Oct. 8 loss to Baltimore, when the Raiders trailed 14-0 less than four minutes into the game and were forced away from what he thought was an effective running game. Left tackle Donald Penn last week addressed the slower starts, saying he thinks the Raiders need to “take a deep breath and just relax.”
“That’s how we’re starting the games, jittery,” Penn said. “These losses are starting to pile up, and everyone is trying to find something to do instead of just doing their own job. Go with the flow and don’t try to do anything extra.”
With the losing streak at four, other players this week said it’s important to avoid pressing. The vibe in the locker room Tuesday was notably loose for a 2-4 team, with players bantering and music blaring from multiple sound systems.
“We’re trying so hard to get a win, sometimes you lose focus of the little things that make the biggest difference,” safety TJ Carrie said. “We definitely have to relax and calm down and just play football.”
The Raiders have not beaten Kansas City since 2014 and scored a total of 23 points in their two meetings last season. But the Chiefs’ 5-1 start this year has masked a defense ranked 29th in the league — which might make this a chance for Downing to shift the narrative of his first season as coordinator.
“I never want to say that you welcome criticism, but I welcome the responsibility that this job has afforded me,” Downing said Tuesday. “I understand that I’m going to have to deal with negative comments and consequences when things aren’t going well. I’m looking forward to standing up here in a more positive fashion soon.”