Raiders look for new winning formula with QB uncertainty
DENVER — The Oakland Raiders’ winning formula changed the moment Derek Carr suffered a broken fibula last Sunday.
This is no longer a team that can rely on its quarterback, who engineered thrilling fourth-quarter comebacks and explosive plays.
If the Raiders are going to survive losing Carr, they’ll have to do it with a grinding running game, smart and safe play from the backup quarterbacks and a defense still finding its way.
The first test of that formula yielded miserable results Sunday in a 24-6 loss to the Denver Broncos, the Raiders' first contest without Carr since he was drafted in 2014.
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Oakland struggled to run on Denver's defense despite rushing for 218 yards in a November win. Quarterbacks Matt McGloin and Connor Cook combined for just 20 completions and 164 passing yards. And the defense allowed an anemic Broncos attack to have its best game in months.
But perhaps even more troubling than just the on-field results was the Raiders' overall appearance as a demoralized team, one that is floundering after the loss of its most valuable player.
Head coach Jack Del Rio was at a loss Sunday evening to explain how so many fundamental elements went wrong in a game with such high stakes.
“I tell the guys all the time, you get what you earn in this league. We didn’t do enough to earn a win (Sunday) and didn’t do enough to earn the opportunity to clinch the division,” Del Rio said.
With the loss and the Kansas City Chiefs' win, Oakland lost out on the AFC West title and a first-round bye.
Now the Raiders must figure out how to quickly fix their major problems.
That starts with finding a way to rebuild the Raiders’ confidence, which now appears seriously shaken.
Del Rio’s plan is to emphasize to his players that they deserve to be in the playoffs, to remember the 12 games they won – some with wild finishes, others in dominating fashion – and try to forget about Sunday’s loss in Denver.
“We’re big boys. We can take it like men and move on,” Del Rio said. “We’ll be ready to roll. We have a good group of men. We’ll shift into playoff mode.”
Because of the left shoulder injury McGloin suffered late in the first half, the Raiders don’t know yet who their starting quarterback will be.
But they do know which others players will have to step up to provide assistance.
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Oakland will lean on its massive high-priced offensive line, who protected Carr so well for much of the season. The group will be counted on to shield McGloin or Cook from a dangerous Texans pass rush led by Jadeveon Clowney. The Raiders' front also will need to open holes in the run game, like it did in the November game against the Broncos, to take pressure off whichever quarterback makes his first playoff start.
Running back Latavius Murray and wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree need to help the new quarterbacks more than they did on Sunday. The game plan might be simplified for McGloin or Cook, but the team’s identity can’t entirely change.
“We have to keep doing what we've done all year. We have confidence in our quarterbacks. We just have to dig deep,” wide receiver Andre Holmes told Paste BN Sports.
Defensively, Oakland will need more from star pass rusher Khalil Mack, who finished the regular season with 11 sacks but none in the Raiders’ last three games. The Raiders had the fewest sacks (25) of any team in the NFL this year. They'll also look for improvement from a run defense that was undisciplined in the regular-season finale.
Del Rio believes all of these things can happen, and happen quickly.
“I’m confident in this group,” Del Rio said. “They care about this team and are really prideful. I think we’ll find a way to bounce back.”
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
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