No team is more penalized in the NFL this season than the Oakland Raiders. But, with a 6-2 record, head coach Jack Del Rio isn't too worried.
On Sunday, the Raiders came back late to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime. The victory is their fifth on the road in five away games. After a decade of sorrow and struggle, Oakland is well on their way back to the postseason.
Not the record you want
Still, there are a number of things they can improve on, including their discipline. In the process of beating the Bucs, the Raiders set an NFL record with 23 penalties that cost them 200 yards.
Those numbers are concerning, and while Del Rio certainly isn't pleased with them, there's only one thing he cares about: winning. And, the Raiders have done plenty of that in 2016.
Article Continues BelowFrom CSN Bay Area's Scott Bair:
“What I like about our guys is that we’re resilient,” Del Rio said during his Monday press conference. “We continue to fight through whatever obstacles present themselves. Yesterday we dealt with a large number of infractions that we don’t want to see. We fought our way through it and found a way to win.”
…
“We’ve made our corrections,” Del Rio said. “We’re not going to dwell on anything negative. We’ll go forward with positive energy and focus on things we need to do.”
Even though the Raiders are four games over .500, five of their six wins have come by one score. If Oakland is successful in cracking down on these infractions, they can turn those close wins into comfortable ones.
Doing so will be especially important this Sunday, as they battle for the AFC West lead with the 6-2 Denver Broncos on Sunday night football.