Raiders’ offense falters in 2nd half
For the Raiders’ offense, the second half has become a foremost issue.
In a 2016 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, the Raiders took a 163 lead into halftime only to allow 17 unanswered points in the second half. It was the third time in five games that the Raiders’ offense — a unit ranked in the top half of the league in total yardage — has gone scoreless after halftime.
Asked Monday about the secondhalf offense against Jacksonville, head coach Jon Gruden gave a decidedly optimistic answer.
“I like what we did,” Gruden said. “I’m being honest with you.”
On four secondhalf drives Sunday, the Raiders gained 91 yards. They began their first at their 3yard line after a punt and advanced to Jacksonville’s 49 before opting to punt on 4thand1.
“Don’t regret doing it,” Gruden said. “In hindsight, I wish I would’ve gone for it. But good drive.”
On the second, Gruden said, the Jaguars “smelled out a screen pass” on second down that led to Derek Carr being sacked on 3rdandlong. On the third, the Raiders took possession leading 1613 with 5:10 left, ran 10 plays and settled for a missed fieldgoal try at the 1:48 mark. That drive stalled after Carr was ruled to have slid out of bounds on a 12yard run, stopping the clock.
“I was pleased with a lot of the things we did offensively,” Gruden said. “The first half, I felt we should have scored more points. But we moved the ball extremely well when we had it, and it’s too bad the game ended the way it did.”
Still, the lack of secondhalf scoring continued a trend.
In their past five games, the Raiders have scored on 10 of 26 firsthalf possessions with six touchdown drives and four field goals. Of their 27 secondhalf drives in that span, just three have yielded points — one touchdown and two field goals. Four have resulted in turnovers and two more in loss of possession on downs.
The postgame locker room Sunday held few answers. Receiver Tyrell Williams said the secondhalf struggles have been frustrating.
“We have to figure out what’s going on,” Williams said. “Go back and see these last few games what the issue is with coming out and starting slow. We’ve got the guys to do it, everybody on offense. We have an explosive offense.”
Said Carr: “We can all play better. For me, it’s my fault, and I’ll get it right.”
Gruden on Monday pointed to the offense’s execution and added, “A lot of it is probably my fault.” He also was asked about settling for field goals on three redzone drives in the first half Sunday.
“Disappointing,” Gruden said. “I think the opening drive (and) second possession was excellent. I think Derek got aggressive a couple of times — got to check the ball down underneath, I think that would have helped us on one of the drives. Then we had some negativeyardage running plays on first down that hurt us. … I think those are two things that we’ve got to take a good look at.”
Although running back Josh Jacobs returned from a shoulder injury to log 24 carries Sunday, right tackle Trent Brown remained out with a pectoral injury. Brown has missed the past two games, and Jacobs is playing with what he has described as a shoulder fracture. Neither, however, has been ruled out of the remaining two games.
“When these guys can play, we’re going to play them,” Gruden said. “We’re trying to win. We need them to win. But obviously we’re going to do right by the player and do what the training staff says.”
Gruden struck a similar tone when asked whether he wants to get backup quarterback DeShone Kizer on the field in the final two games.
“I like to see everybody get a chance,” Gruden said. “We want to win. And we’re going to do everything we can to win. But we’ll see what happens here down the road with DeShone Kizer. To answer your question, I want to win the game, and we’re going to play our best players to win.”
Despite four straight losses and a 68 record, the Raiders have not been eliminated from playoff contention.
“That’s why we want to play the best players,” Gruden said. “You never know what can happen.”
Matt Kawahara is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mkawahara@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matthewkawahara