The 2022 season was supposed to be the season when the Las Vegas Raiders put everything together to emerge as one of the best teams in the NFL. Instead, through three games in the season, they have looked lost and confused for long stretches of the action. The result has been an 0-3 start to the season, making Las Vegas one of the most disappointing teams in the league to start the season.
On both sides of the ball, the Raiders have looked disjointed. The offense has struggled to consistently piece together long drives, and while they show their potential from time to time, it hasn't been good enough considering the ample amount of talent they have at their disposal. On defense, Las Vegas has shown improvement, but they haven't been able to stand tall when they need to, and it's been a big reason for each of their three losses.
Put it all together and you have one of the biggest surprises in the NFL. The Raiders have quickly fallen behind the pack in the wildly competitive AFC West, and given how much talent every other team in their division possesses, it may not be something they can overcome. But things are not as bad as they may seem for the Raiders, and there is still time for them to turn things around this season.
The Las Vegas Raiders can still rebound from their 0-3 start
The Raiders have opened their season with losses to the Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans. All three are solid teams, and it's worth noting that the Raiders have lost these three games by a combined 13 points. If a couple big plays go their way, the Raiders could be a 3-0 team.
Instead, they are 0-3, and every NFL team is left wondering what is going on with the Raiders. They have all the talent in the world on their roster, but they simply haven't been able to turn it into wins so far this season. So what gives; why are the Raiders not winning games right now?
Early on, the Raiders have been haunted by big plays not going their way. We've seen plays in each of their three losses not go their way that could have changed the outcome of the game.
What if the offense converted their fourth-and-eight against the Chargers? What if the defense sacked Kyler Murray on any one of his incredible extended plays in Week 2, or Hunter Renfrow doesn't fumble the ball in overtime, which ended up leading to Arizona's game-winning touchdown? What if Derek Carr was able to connect with Darren Waller for a game-tying two point conversion against the Titans?
It's not the most sound explanation, but it shows you where things have gone wrong for Las Vegas early on. Whether that's due to poor player execution or poor coaching under their new regime led by Josh McDaniels remains to be seen. Chances are it's a mix of both.
The Raiders have the pieces in place to turn things around, and chances are they will figure things out. They have had a lot of turnover this offseason, and it's been easy to see that has hampered them early on. It also hasn't helped that they've played three strong teams to open the season.
Moving forward, though, it's clear some changes are going to need to be made in order for the Raiders to improve. Offensively, Davante Adams needs to be far more involved than he has been in the early going. The unexpected contributions from Mack Hollins have been nice, but Adams is a gamechanger who can win his team games if given the opportunity to do so. Early on, he hasn't been able to make such an impact.
Defensively, more pressure needs to be applied on opposing quarterbacks. On paper, a pass rush led by Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones should be deadly, but the Raiders only have two sacks on the season so far, and both are from Crosby. If they can create pressure on their opponent more frequently, it will open things up for their defense.
It may seem unreasonable to expect the Raiders to climb out of this hole considering the division they play in, but the AFC West hasn't really gotten off to a hot start as a whole. The Chargers are 1-2, the Denver Broncos are probably the least convincing 2-1 team in the league, and even the Kansas City Chiefs suffered a shocking loss in Week 3.
That doesn't mean that these teams aren't going to be serious playoff threats this season, but the seemingly minimal margin for error that was expected to exist in the division heading into the season simply isn't there so far. The Raiders struggles are concerning, but given the talent they have on their roster, they should be able to turn things around soon. An 0-3 start isn't ideal, but Las Vegas cannot be counted out of things just yet.
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