Raiders have fared poorly at new Allegiant Stadium
The Las Vegas Raiders bring down the curtain on Year 1 at the “Death Star” Saturday night, never expecting their new home to be the place their season went to die.
There are myriad reasons the Raiders will soon officially be eliminated from the playoff race. It could happen Saturday night when they host the Miami Dolphins, who are in the thick of the postseason picture at 9-5.
The Raiders, having lost four of their last five, are 7-7 because they have been unable to defend their home turf at Allegiant Stadium, where they have a 2-5 record as opposed to 5-2 on the road.
“A lot of things have happened to us in the last month or so. I’m not going to reiterate all those
things,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Thursday. “We love our stadium ... yeah, we’d like to win in there. We’re playing a great team, one of the hottest teams in the league, and we’re going to have to pay our best game of the year to win.”
The Raiders’ longshot playoff pathway goes like this — 1) They beat Miami and Denver; 2) Miami loses to Buffalo in Week 17; 3) Baltimore loses to the New York Giants and Cincinnati.
Four ways the Raiders can beat Miami and leave their final home game feeling as if they’re still in it:
1. CONVERT WITH TOUCH
DOWNS IN THE RED ZONE >> The drive that ended when Derek Carr pulled up with a groin strain ended with a 23-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson. Later, with Marcus Mariota at quarterback, it happened again for another 20-yard field goal. It was the 19th a nd 20th red zone field goals the Raiders have kicked this season — the most in the NFL.
The Raiders defense has been much maligned and deservedly so, but if their own offense scored touchdowns at a higher rate in the red zone, they’d probably be going to the playoffs.
It won’t be easy against Miami, a team that leads the NFL in third down defense (32.5 percent).
2. WIN THE TURNOVER MARGIN >> Yes, that again. And it’s huge this week, because Miami leads the NFL with 26 takeaways and is third in turnover margin at plus 10. They’ve got a rookie quarterback in Tua Tagavailoa who doesn’t take risks and takes care of the ball. The Raiders are in the bottom third in turnover margin at minus-6.
In the last five games, four of them losses, the Raiders have turned the ball over 12 times and are at minus-7. Carr has 15 turnovers this season (seven interceptions, eight lost fumbles). He’s expected to start but his mobility could be limited. Mariota had one interception in his debut against the Chargers.
3. STOP GIVING UP FIRST DOWNS BY PENALTY >> With one of the worst defenses in the NFL, the last thing the Raiders can afford to do is give opponents second chances. And third chances. And fourth chances.
During their 1- 4 streak, the Raiders have done just that, giving up an incredible 21 first downs by penalty and allowing the opposing offense to stay on the field. They did it five times each in losses and last week to the Chargers.
Miami is efficient offensively but not particularly explosive. Avoid the first downs by penalty and there might be a few punts in the future of A. J. Cole.
4. LET THE STARS SHINE >> Darren Waller, named to the Pro Bowl this week, is on a hot streak of late statistically and has been Carr’s favorite receiver, targeted more than 28 percent of the time.
The Raiders other Pro Bowler, running back Josh Jacobs, last gained 100-plus yards on Nov. 15 against Denver with 21 carries for 112 yards. In his last four games (Jacobs didn’t play against the Jets because of a knee injury), Jacobs has 63 carries for 207 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per attempt. He’s 93 yards shy of a second straight 1,000-yard season and needs a jump in production to get there.