Raiders’ offense has produced late in half, end of games
Of course, the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense will look much different this season than it did in 2021.
There is a new coaching staff, led by head coach Josh McDaniels, and the team added a premier No. 1 wide receiver in Davante Adams. However, there is plenty to build on from what the unit was able to get done in the recent past.
In one area the Raiders’ offense was strong last year — as illustrated in the below tweet by NFL analyst Warren Sharp — was in the first half and late in games. The Raiders were near the top of the NFL in the final four minutes of both the first and second halves of games in 2021. They scored on 34 percent of those drives, which was tied for the sixth most with the Detroit Lions. Here’s the list:
best & worst 4 min offenses
(% of drives in final 4:00 of 1H or 2H that scored points)
47% – DAL
46%
45%
44%
43%
42%
41%
40%
39%
38% – LAC
37%
36% – CIN, SF
35% – ATL
34% – LV, DET
33% – NE, NO, BAL
32% – LAR
31% – BUF—-
16% – CLE
15%
14% – NYJ
13% – PIT
12%
11% – MIA, NYG— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 22, 2022
The Raiders’ success late in games was on display all season and was a big reason why they were 4-0 in overtime last season. It made them a playoff team. They can have even more success in that area this season.
Other Raiders’ links:
- Not a great projection: The Football Outsiders project the Raiders at 85. wins and in eighth place (outside the playoffs) in the AFC.
- 18th seems low: The Raiders rank 18th on Yahoo’s preseason rankings. That seems a tad low to me.
- Heartbreaking story: ESPN talked to the family of Tina Tintor, who died in the car wreck in which ended Henry Ruggs’ Raiders’ career.