On the road again, Raiders look to end curse at Lambeau
It’s almost over.
A road swing unlike any other in franchise history finds the Raiders visiting the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field tonight, the penultimate game in a fivegame trip which concludes next week in Houston.
And while the late September through November time away from the Coliseum was supposed to be the ruination of the Raiders, they could conceivably come out of the tunnel not only in contention for the playoffs but with a distinct identity that was unrecognizable when it started Sept. 22 with a 34-14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Not that coach Jon Gruden is looking too far ahead.
“This road trip won’t end,” he said. “We are at Green Bay this week, we are playing a great defense, obviously one of the best quarterbacks to ever play, so there’s no time to rest.”
Facing Aaron Rodgers begins a string of dangerous quarterbacks to the fore, the likes of which they haven’t seen since losing to Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes.
Yet things are also looking up for the Raiders in other ways. They’ve had a week off after the London trip and a 24-21 win over the Chicago Bears while Green Bay is coming off a grueling Monday night win against Detroit.
Right guard Gabe Jackson is back, making his debut following a training camp MCL strain. He may or may not be joined on the right side by Trent Brown, who was officially listed as “doubtful” with a calf strain. Gruden was holding out hope Brown could play and give the Raiders their projected five starters up front.
And the offensive line is already creating a buzz around the NFL. It’s similar to 2016, the last time the Raiders made the postseason.
“I think that’s going to be the biggest challenge for us,” Green Bay coach Matt Lafleur said. “They are big, they are physical, and they’ve done a great job running the football consistently. And so, our defense as a whole, that is going to be a key for us to have success this weekend, is being able to stop the run.”
Five keys to beating the Packers:
POUND THE ROCK >> One of Gruden’s favorite sayings from back in the day, the Raiders have made it part of their personality and running the ball is the stiff left jab that sets up everything else. And Gruden has no problem with the Raiders continually delivering that jab as long as it’s effective.
Gruden’s first NFL job as a position coach was with Green Bay under Mike Holmgren in 1993, but he never won a game there with another team until 2005 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers That day, he ran Cadillac Williams 37 times for 158 yards in a 17-16 win. The Bucs ran it 41 times and passed it 26.
Josh Jacobs is unlikely to get 37 carries, but then again, the Raiders’ leading rusher with 430 yards is coming off a bye week and has looked more than capable of carrying the load.
If Brown doesn’t play, running the ball becomes even more of a priority because young tackles usually struggle with pass blocking more than run blocking. PLAY TOP DOWN COVERAGE >> In other words, don’t let Rodgers get the ball deep. The Packers are hurting at receiver like the Raiders, with top threat Davante Adams out with turf toe. But that doesn’t mean Rodgers, one of the best deep throwers in the game, can’t make heroes out of obscure receivers.
How the Raiders deploy their secondary remains to be seen. If cornerback Nevin Lawson is active, it gives defensive coordinator Paul Guenther a chance to put the Daryl Worley plan into effect. Worley, Gruden and Guenther said, could be playing more of a hybrid role in the future.
If Worley is playing deep, the Raiders can use both Karl Joseph and Lamarcus Joyner in the box, where both can make an impact with their quickness and quick-strike tackling.
GET WIDE RECEIVERS MORE INVOLVED >> One could say the Raiders are doing it with mirrors in terms of their passing game, but it’s more accurate to say they’re doing it with extra tight ends and running backs.
Rookie tight end Foster Moreau, to go along with Darren Waller, has had more impact of late than wide receivers. Carr is 52 of 60 for 511 yards when targeting tight ends.
Behind Tyrell Williams, who will miss his second straight game with a heel injury, the Raiders’ leading wide receiver is Hunter Renfrow with 12 catches for 101 yards. Twelve catches is what they were hoping Antonio Brown would give them in single game.
HIT A DEEP STRIKE >> This is the last place where anyone will find obsessing over yards per attempt or how long the ball travels in the air from quarterback to receiver. The Raiders simply don’t play that way as currently constructed.
But they’re getting to the point where Carr ought to be lulling opposing defenses to sleep with an endless procession of power runs and quick-timed throws. One big play — whether it’s to Davis, Waller or Jalen Richard out of the backfield — would do wonders for the offense as a whole and, in turn, loosen things up for Carr.
The Raiders’ longest pass play this season is 43 yards to Williams. Only one other receiver — Waller — has a 30-yard gain.
END THE LAMBEAU HEX >> The Raiders haven’t won in Green Bay since 1990 when the team was the Los Angeles Raiders. Their last two games at Lambeau were major embarrassments, losing 38-7 in 2007 and 46-16 in 2011.
The 2007 game was notable because the Raiders kept Jamarcus Russell, who held out to start the season, planted on the bench because it was too cold even though the game was out of reach. In 2011, the Raiders trailed 31-0 at halftime.
The last time the Raiders were even competitive in Green Bay was the 1999 season opener. In the debut of Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon, Brett Favre led Green Bay to a 2824 win with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Thomason with 11 seconds to play.