The opinions about the Raiders’ offense last season are certainly mixed. And that’s generally what happens when a team is ranked inside the top-10 in DVOA, but 23rd in points per game (19.6). It was an offense that had no problem moving the ball (363.7 yards per game) but struggled to convert in the red zone.
Given all of the upgrades the Raiders made this offseason, how much better could the offense be this season? In a recent piece by Mark Schofield of the Touchdown Wire, he ranked the Raiders’ offense at No. 21 entering the 2020 season. Here is a snippet of Schofield’s thoughts on the Raiders’ offense:
“The questions about the offense might come down to the quarterback. Carr put up some solid numbers, such as a 70.4% completion percentage and an NFL passer rating of 100.8, and his Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 7.25 placed him ninth in the league. With Ruggs in place, a slight improvement on those numbers is very possible, making a leap up rankings like these possible as well.”
For the Raiders to become a better offense this season, they have to be more efficient in the red zone. Last season, the Raiders scored touchdowns on their red-zone trips just 53 percent of the time (22nd in NFL). While all of the yardage is nice, it’s points that win games.
The Raiders are hoping that the additions of players like Jason Witten, Bryan Edwards and of course, Henry Ruggs, will improve that number this season. But if it doesn’t, the Raiders could be a disappointing offense again this year.
