The Las Vegas Raiders are still playing for pride.
On Sunday, the Raiders (2-10) head east to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6).
The Buccaneers come into this matchup as winners of their last two games and tied for first in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, the Raiders were eliminated from postseason contention on Sunday and are hoping to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Here are three keys to the game that will help the Raiders finally get back in the win column:
Get Bowers involved
No matter the situation, getting the best players involved on offense is always a winning strategy.
It’s been no secret that rookie tight end Brock Bowers is the best offensive player the Raiders have right now. Since arriving in Las Vegas as the 13th overall selection in April’s draft, all Bowers has done is dominate NFL defenses. His 84 receptions currently lead the NFL, and he is on pace to smash the rookie record of 86 set by the Detroit Lions’ Sam LaPorta last season. He is one of only three rookies to record ten receptions in at least three games (Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014, Jaylen Waddle in 2021). His 884 yards also have Bowers in position to be the third rookie tight end in NFL history to break 1,000 yards (Mike Ditka in 1961, Kyle Pitts in 2021). The historic season has put Bowers squarely in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, and the Raiders have continuously worked to involve Bowers in the offense.
“I’ve said that from day one, from the first day he walked into the building, he was just a different cat, man,” Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said on Bowers. “He’s all about ball. You just see him, everything he’s doing, he’s always moving. Everything’s football related, even just walking through the building. And that’s just a small sample of what he does throughout.
Beat down Baker
The Raiders defense will have to step up in this game to pull out the win.
After years on jumping around the league, quarterback Baker Mayfield has found a home in Tampa Bay. Despite injuries to his primary weapons in wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, Mayfield has still put together a strong season for the Buccaneers, posting 3,034 passing yards and 25 touchdowns. The key for Mayfield has been being able to keep plays alive and having multiple reliable options to target. Evans continues to be a top target despite an injury-riddled season, while tight end Cade Otton and running backs Rachaad White and Bucky Irving have proven to be great safety valves. With so many options to keep tabs on, the Raiders will need to come up with a solid defensive gameplan. One such idea is to overwhelm Mayfield with pressure and force him to make mistakes, which would require players like defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson to continue his breakout from last week opposite Maxx Crosby. Should the Raiders accomplish that objective, they stand a chance to pull off the upset win.
“[Mayfield] plays the game kind of like Brett Favre, who I played against in league. He’s very fiery, he’ll do whatever it takes to make a play,” said Pierce. “The play’s never dead with him. You’ve got to keep your eyes on him and then stay in coverage. So, that’ll be a challenge. But, I mean obviously he has the arm talent, very talented player. And then look, he has some really good players on his team, right? Mike Evans is there, and that’s going to be a big challenge for us as well. And these two running backs, seven [Irving] and one [White], are doing a really good job for him as well in pass protection and running routes.”
Keep the momentum going
Despite the crushing defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs on Black Friday, the Raiders came away with plenty to build off of.
The game was the first where the Raiders topped 400 yards of total offense, besting the Chiefs despite their vaunted quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Raiders also put up two more first downs than their division rival, as well as winning the time of possession battle. If it were not for the botched snap and controversial illegal shift with seconds to go, the Raiders might have pulled off the biggest upset of the NFL season. While that did not come to pass, there is no time to dwell on what might have been. Even during a lost season and as the cries of tanking grow louder, the Raiders showed last week that they are not going to simply roll over for their opponents. The game against the Buccaneers is another time to continue trying to find positives to carry throughout the rest of the season.
“Definitely some good plays, but it just stinks more than anything, I think. And it was just a really hard loss,” said quarterback Aidan O’Connell. “Even sometimes when you have a game right after, it’s easier to move on, but we had kind of a longer week this week and so kind of really got to sit in it, and it’s no fun. And so, yeah, obviously we did a lot of good things offensively throughout the game, but at the end of the day, didn’t score enough points to win. So, the mistakes kind of are what really stays in your mind, and you try to just learn from them and move on.”
