Raiders Opinion: Two Weeks To Show Signs Of Pride -

The Las Vegas Raiders face opponents in two winnable games. Yet, can they put aside the dreadful losses and compete?

Over their next two games, the Las Vegas Raiders will face the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Seeing as the Raiders sit in a bit of a sour spot, being too far gone from a playoff spot but having an outside chance at a top-five draft pick. Many would advise the team to do their best to not win another game for the rest of the year.

Stout At The Line

However, with the Patriots and Steelers relying on their defense to decide their games, the Raiders could use these games to iron a few things out. Head coach Josh McDaniels has rightfully leaned on his run game during a majority of this season’s games, and there is no question that Josh Jacobs can run the heck out of the ball. Jacobs’ rushing abilities may have no question marks, but the other half of the offense has not been as consistent. Derek Carr has had some great games and incredible throws, but he has also come out flat and made some questionable decisions. The strategy for these next two games would simply be to let Derek cook. Following last Thursday’s 20-pass-attempt performance, Carr was most likely ready to throw 40 in-game passes by Friday afternoon.

Nothing To Lose

With Carr’s future with the team not exactly solidified, giving him two games to air the ball out and dissect defenses has a much larger upside than it does downside. From Carr’s good side, fans have seen a quarterback capable of completing any pass and winning an impressive amount of games. Carr has the ability to shine when given the keys to the offense. If Carr is given the opportunity to throw the ball 35 times or more in each of the next two games, it would allow him to continue gelling with the players filling in for Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller, while also continuing to showcase what he can do for McDaniels, and potentially create additional mutual confidence to be used in future playcalling.

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2023 Audition?

On the flip side, Carr airing it out over the next eight quarters would also provide other teams with a bit of a “late-term pro day” should he be entered into trade discussions in the off-season. Carr has proven he possesses enough talent to complete a majority of his passes, and the team can rest easy during this process, knowing he will not be tanking his trade value. While trading Carr after bringing in his college teammate, Davante Adams, seems a bit insane, this season has been anything but ordinary, and all options should be considered. Carr throwing the ball until his arm falls off would also not hurt his standing with the team in any way. The biggest concern for this strategy would be Josh Jacobs’ quest to lock up the league’s rushing title.

The Cornerstone

As it stands, Jacobs has already smashed his previous career high for rushing yards in a season, and with his 1,405 with four games left, he is currently less than 400 yards away from Marcus Allen’s team record of 1,759. However, during the Rams game, Jacobs sustained what appeared to be a fairly significant finger injury. However, he played through it. Despite grimacing every time it was contacted, Jacobs fought. While the decision would be between Jacobs and his coaches, he would need to average 89 yards per game. That number, he easily attained in a majority of his games, over the final four to set the team record.

Chase Numbers Or Money?

If the Raiders have no desire to sign or trade him, the team would be much more likely to allow him to go for the record. But, if they do intend to resign him, passing Allen’s record would certainly add some value to his contract. The Raiders’ final four games contain a significant amount of question marks. Yet, the biggest decision for the team should be which one of their stars they should allow to shine.