It’s over; the Oakland Raiders are finally no more after suffering another loss to the Denver Broncos 16-5. After starting the season 6-4 and looking like they had an easy route to the playoffs, it all came crumbling down the stretch going 1-5 and missing the playoffs.
Raiders offense put up all the yards in a world but only managed to score 15 points and one touchdown. They averaged 6.8 yards per play and finished with 477 total yards of offense. They were awful in the red zone, only scoring one touchdown on their five trips in the area, which was their Achilles heel for the whole game.
Carr was up and down but finished with a season-high 391 yards and a touchdown, and the running game was effective as well 97 yards on the day. Going into the offseason, the Raiders for sure need upgrades on the offensive side, and Gruden has to adjust with better plays in the red zone.
The defense put up another high performance, having momentum going into the long offseason. The Raiders only allowed 4.1 yards per play and had Drew Lock under pressure all game. Lock finished with yards per attempt of 6.3 and wasn’t able to hit anything downfield.
The running game was nonexistent, keeping The Broncos in third and long situations. With all the young players on defense and their performances in the last two weeks, they finally could become a top 20 unit next year.
Who are the winners and losers for Week 17? Here are the final winners and losers for the season:
Winner: DE Maxx Crosby
Maxx Crosby has been one of the Raiders stand out rookies all season. Crosby came into the games with 8.5 sacks and was leading the team in tackles for loss. The fourth-round pick put the final touches on his excellent season with his performance Sunday.
Crosby was always in the backfield and finished the game with 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss. Crosby blew up a reverse for late in the fourth that helped the Raiders get the ball back late in the fourth. He almost had another game-changing play when he forced Lock to fumble the football, but the team didn’t react and allowed the Broncos to recover for a first down. However, it didn’t take away from Crosby’s performance.
Crosby will, for sure, be a cornerstone for the defense for the foreseeable future after this rookie season and performance. He has to continue to grow and add on to his game to take it to the next level. Hopefully, his offseason schedule is built on him developing in the defense.
Winner: WR Hunter Renfrow
“Third and Renfrow” has become a real thing as Hunter Renfrow finds his way back into the winners’ column. Renfrow has become a receiver that Carr has leaned on and put on a display with another 100-yard game.
The fifth-round pick caught 6 of his nine targets for 102 yards and a touchdown. He was incredible on the final drive having a massive catch in traffic that got the Raiders in the red zone. He then added a fantastic all hands catch that made the deficit just 1 point.
Renfrow route running has been pristine all year and finds ways to get open consistently against man coverage. His best route was on the double move, where Carr barely missed him on the deep route.
Renfrow could be a special player with the Raiders finishing his rookie season with over 700 yards and too back to back 100-yard games. Fans can only expect him to improve next season from the slot and also display his ability to play outside, maybe as he grows into an NFL receiver. Renfrow hit the jackpot with Renfrow.
Loser: HC Jon Gruden
Gruden deserves credit for this team going from 4-12 to 7-9, which is an improvement from the previous season. However, this isn’t his first time in the loser column, and this performance puts him there again with miss opportunities that helped the Raiders struggle in the red zone.
Gruden’s conservative nature has come back to hurt him plenty this game, especially on fourth down. The first opportunity to go for it on fourth down was the 4th and 1 on the very first drive of the game the Raiders then missed the field goal.
He kept calling wrong concepts in the red zone that led to the Raiders only getting three points on their next three trips. Gruden didn’t play to win this game, and even late in the fourth was attempting to play ball-control offense.
If the Raiders want to win playoff games, Gruden has to find a way to become aggressive with situational football. If this doesn’t change, it could be a long decade for the Raiders organizations full of blown leads and heartbreak.
Loser: WR Marcell Ateman
A player who got a look this week and was hoping to make his mark was Marcell Ateman. Tyrell Williams was down and didn’t play many snaps during the game, and Ateman got his shot. The former 7th round pick didn’t make most of his opportunity and ended having a rough outing.
Ateman’s first target was on a dig over the middle during the two-minute drill. Ateman couldn’t hold onto the football and helped the Broncos take a 10-3 lead with the turnover.
Ateman struggled to be on the same page as Carr as well, with him dropping a massive pass on the Raiders second to last drive where there were three drops, and Ateman led the way. Ateman did have a big catch to on 4th down on the final drive, but it was too little too late.
I doubt Ateman ends up on the final roster next season because he hasn’t shown he can be a guy in Gruden’s offense going forward while he has displayed a little bit of development but not enough to make a lasting impression on the front office.
