Can Raiders turn a terrific summer into successful regular season?

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022 | 2 a.m.

Mac Jones paces the sideline on the middle practice field at the Raiders’ facility in Henderson, appearing to talk to himself in a frustrated manner after throwing an interception following a string of incompletions.

The New England Patriots’ second-year quarterback hardly resembled the rookie revelation from a year ago during his weeklong stay in Las Vegas this summer that included a pair of joint practices and a preseason game against the Raiders. And it wasn’t just Jones: Las Vegas mostly dismantled a New England team that was far superior to it only a season ago.

The Patriots’ point differential was 224 points better than the Raiders’ in 2021, when they got as high as the third betting favorite to win the Super Bowl during a midseason seven-game winning streak. The Raiders, meanwhile, squeaked into the playoffs with an improbable string of four-straight victories to end the regular season.

But that all felt like ancient history when the two teams squared off to officially end training camp in late August. Having already seemingly establishing itself as the better team in the practices, a squad mostly comprising Raiders backups and practice-squad players blew out the majority of the Patriots’ starters 23-6 in the preseason finale at Allegiant Stadium.

The victory lifted Las Vegas to a 4-0 record in the preseason for the first time in franchise history. It was the perfect capper to a six-week stretch during which the Raiders regularly looked capable of greatness.

Now, of course, the question is, how much does any of that matter? How to value the eye test before the real games start is an age-old conundrum in the NFL, and this year’s Raiders should provide a fascinating case study.

Does their consistent success getting ready for the season outweigh their shortcomings? Shortcomings do exist, though Raiders’ fans have tended to ignore them while lost in the euphoria of big-name newcomers arriving to the franchise in the offseason.

It started with the hiring of general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels, two of the primary contributors to the Patriots’ two-decade dynastical reign. The duo then won immediate favor by bringing in a pair of superstar players in Davante Adams—widely regarded as one of the absolute best wide receivers in the NFL—and Chandler Jones, the NFL’s leader in sacks over the past 10 years.

Those are two major additions, but it remains to be seen if they’re enough to lift a team that wasn’t truly as strong as last year’s playoff berth indicated. Las Vegas went 10-7 in 2021, but point differential is statistically proven to be a more predictive measure going forward, and that’s where the team fell short.

The 2021 Raiders were outscored by 66 points on the season, the lowest mark of any NFL playoff team since 2010.

And while Ziegler and McDaniels undeniably upgraded the glamour positions, they arguably did so at the neglect of more pressing matters. Las Vegas had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL last year, and the biggest addition was a third-round draft pick in Memphis guard/center Dylan Parham.

The Raiders’ secondary was only marginally better than the offensive line, and they addressed it with risky investments instead of surefire improvements. Free-agent strong safety Duron Harmon is 31 years old, far past the usual prime of defensive backs, and he has declined in each of the past two seasons since leaving New England.

Free-agent cornerback Anthony Averett was an end-of-the-roster player until last year, when injuries pressed him into action with the Ravens. Cornerback Rock-Ya Sin—acquired via trade with the Colts in exchange for Yannick Ngakoue—fell out favor in Indianapolis largely because of maddening inconsistency. The weak spots have been evident in practice, but easy to write off based on which teammates have been making the plays against them. Opponents last year couldn’t block Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby —who finished second in the league with 101 quarterback pressures—so it’s unreasonable to expect a rotating cast of Raider right tackles to do much better.

Adams, who makes catches even when well-covered, has quickly rediscovered the chemistry he had with quarterback Derek Carr dating back to their college days at Fresno State. Carr has been extremely accurate with all of his receivers, avoiding interceptions entirely in practice until the final week of training camp, when second-year cornerback Nate Hobbs read and jumped an Adams route.

Hobbs has played like a potential breakout Pro Bowler, while Carr has looked like he could merit consideration as a darkhorse NFL MVP candidate. It’s a good example of how, for every ounce of Raiders’ pessimism, there’s a much-larger dose of optimism.

No teams are without their issues going into the season, but the Raiders’ concerns feel more minimized because of how sharp they’ve been under McDaniels to this point.

The season will tell whether that’s a short-sighted mistake or a well-earned reaction.