The Las Vegas Raiders are in desperate need of something positive this season.
Following a sixth straight loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the Raiders’ season is all but over mathematically. The eyes of the team and fanbase are set squarely on 2025, particularly at the quarterback position.
That said, any silver lining is welcome, and the Raiders did get one against the Dolphins.
The prevailing consensus in NFL circles is that the Raiders’ offense looked as good as it has this season in interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s first game at the controls.
“In the first game since offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was fired, Las Vegas’ offense flowed much better under interim OC Scott Turner,” said NFL.com’s Christian Gonzales.
“Quarterback Gardner Minshew led the team to two scoring drives to begin the game and Turner’s offense involved six different players getting a chance to rush the ball in the first half.”
The biggest beneficiary of Turner’s creative playcalling was undoubtedly tight end Brock Bowers, who put together his best game of the season against the Dolphins. Bowers put up an NFL rookie tight end record of 13 catches for a career-high 126 yards and a touchdown.
The fact that a Turner lead offense is featuring a tight end should come as no surprise. When Turner was offensive coordinator for the then-Washington Football Team from 2020-22, he helped develop a quarterback-to-tight end convert in Logan Thomas. Thomas put together his best seasons while with Turner, including a career-high 670 yards and six touchdowns in 2020. Turner’s father and Raiders assistant Norv Turner, is also familiar with star tight ends, as he had coached perennial Pro Bowler Antonio Gates throughout his six-year tenure as head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2007-12. During that time, Gates crossed 700 receiving yards in all but one season (2012) and never scored less than seven touchdowns, notching five of his eight Pro Bowl appearances while Turner was head coach.
While there was promise to Turner’s offense, a few familiar problems continued to persist. The Raiders were only able to convert one of three red zone opportunities, and the running game is still inefficient.
“Running backs Alexander Mattison and Zamir White were each held to under 20 rushing yards, and both got banged up with injuries,” Gonzales said.
Despite these struggles, it is important to note that this was only Turner’s first game as offensive coordinator, so some first-game hiccups are not out of the norm.
Raiders fans will hope that the offense continues to improve on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
