Three weeks ago, the Oakland Raiders appeared to be in the driver's seat in the AFC Wild Card race. They were 6-4 with a game against the New York Jets on tap, and while they had a demanding schedule the rest of the way, it seemed like they were up to the challenge.
Not so fast.
The Raiders have now lost three straight games, all of them coming via blowouts.
Most recently, Oakland fell to the Tennessee Titans — a team that has been jostling with the Raiders for the conference's second Wild Card spot — by a score of 42-21.
With his club's playoff hopes fading, head coach Jon Gruden says that his club's recent play has been “sickening.”
“Right now, we’ve got to play better, and we’re going to play better, and there will be changes,” Gruden said, according to Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area. “There will be changes. What happened yesterday will not happen again. I can’t allow it to happen.”
The Raiders' defense has been so poor that it allowed 552 yards to a Titans offense that is not exactly known for being a juggernaut, which Gruden said was “like getting punched in the stomach.”
Gruden may be promising change, but the problem is, Oakland is running out of time.
Just three weeks are remaining in the regular season, and the Raiders' chances of making the playoffs seem slim to none with both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Titans sitting at 8-5 in front of them.
It looks like Gruden will have to wait until next year for his squad to rebound.
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