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Breaking Down the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2021 Season So Far

The Las Vegas Raiders have had a wild start to 2021. Who knows what will happen from here? Join Vegas411 as we break it down

1. A brief overview of the Las Vegas Raiders’ season so far

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It’s been a confusing start to the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2021 season. There were definitely some missteps on the team’s part, but they seem to have a lot more strength than last season. Not only is that evident by their 3-0 start to the season, including wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, but also by their quick recovery from the Jon Gruden email scandal. In fact, the Raiders are now undefeated since Gruden resigned from the team and are leading their division after a mid-season collapse against the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos.

2. Las Vegas Raiders open with a win on Monday Night Football

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Again, it started with a game against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football, and it ended up being the perfect place for the Las Vegas Raiders to showcase their skills. Of course, the Raiders and the Ravens traded touchdowns throughout the first game of the season, but it was Derek Carr with a walk-off touchdown in overtime that eventually gave them the victory. The charge was helped by Joshua Jacobs, who scored twice that night, and Zay Jones, the lucky man who brought down Carr’s overtime touchdown pass.

3. Raiders survive the Pittsburgh Steelers

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Fast forward a week later, and the Raiders were up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Carr and the team’s offense struggled to put up points in the first half of the game, they came up clutch in the second half with two touchdowns and a field goal for good measure. The defense also held the Steelers to 295 yards and even picked up Ben Rothlisberger during the matchup. The Raiders would go on to beat the Steelers by 9 for a final score of 26-17, giving them a 2-0 start to the season.

4. Las Vegas Raiders barely manage to take care of business agaisnt the Miami Dolphins

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Then there was Week Three against the Miami Dolphins, where the Raiders struggled on defense and allowed 28 points. At the end of the first quarter, the Dolphins were up 14-2, putting the Raiders’ undefeated season in jeopardy. Fortunately for the team, they responded with 10 points in the 2nd quarter to make it a 14-12 game. They then went on to outscore the Dolphins 14-11 in the final two quarters of play and even scored a touchdown in overtime to go 3-0. The defense was becoming a problem, though.

Looking deeper into the totals, Las Vegas allowed 348 yards, which was disappointing because the Dolphins were 1-2 at the time. Another disappointing thing was that they allowed 133 rushing yards and two touchdowns as well. They didn’t allow any passing touchdowns by Jacoby Brisset, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a breakdown for the defense. This might have even been the worst showing the defense had all season.

5. Las Vegas loses their first game of the season

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Things grew worse the next week when the Raiders faced off against the Los Angeles Chargers and lost their first game of the season, 28-14. The Raiders would go scoreless in the first half of that game. The defense didn’t do much better during the first half, allowing 21 points and failing to earn even one turnover. They did manage to pick up two sacks on Justin Herbert before time ran out, however.

Now, it is worth mentioning that the Raiders were able to hold the Chargers to one touchdown in the second half of the game, but it wasn’t enough to stop them from losing 28-14. Carr even threw an interception for good measure but was unable to connect with his key weapons. Furthermore, the rushing game only managed 48 yards during the contest, leaving too much weight on the quarterback, who was nailed with four sacks before the night’s end.

This is when the Jon Gruden email scandal reared its ugly head, leaving the organization subjected to repeated scrutiny. The team turned in a 20-9 loss that weekend to the Chicago Bears, giving them their second loss of the season. This only furthered scrutiny on Gruden and showed just how much confidence the team had lost in him.

6. The Jon Gruden scandal

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Fast forward a week later, and the media was threatening to release more damning emails if Gruden didn’t resign. The former Raiders’ coach eventually stepped down and left the role to Rich Bisaccia. Gruden also took the time to apologize for his wording in the emails and said it wasn’t representative of how he feels now.

It’s no secret that Raider Nation thought the season was over at this point and who can blame them? The team had just lost to their divisional rival, complicating their road to a championship. They were also having lingering problems on defense. There was just no reason to believe the team could turn things around.

7. Raiders get beaten badly by the Bears

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Las Vegas had just lost to their divisional rival and followed that up with a loss to one of the worst organizations in the league in the Chicago Bears. Derek Carr turned in a laughable 22 of 35 for 206 yards, zero touchdowns, and an ill-timed interception that virtually doomed the Raiders from the onset. The rushing game wasn’t better, only accounting for 71 yards and one touchdown from an injury-plagued Joshua Jacobs. They just couldn’t put a drive together, and the Bears kept their key players covered all game long.

That gave the Raiders only three points in the first half and six points in the fourth quarter. This had to be one of the worst showings for the offense, and it couldn’t have come against a more middle-of-the-road opponent.

As for the Las Vegas Raiders’ defense, they only allowed 118 yards in the air by the Bears and 139 rushing yards. The problem, though is that when the defense did their part and got the opposing offense off the field, Derek Carr and company couldn’t capitalize on it. This left the Raiders struggling to put points on the board.

8. Las Vegas Raiders rebound with a win over the Denver Broncos

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And then, it happened. Just like that, the Raiders were put up against their divisional rival, the Denver Broncos, and ended up winning the game 34-24. Not only did this help the Raiders in the standings after two straight losses, but it also marked the end of their freefall. This is also where Joshua Jacobs returned from an ankle injury to rush for 51 yards and a touchdown. Kenyan Drake added 31 yards and a touchdown of his own, which showed just how powerful the tandem could be.

Carr came up clutch during the game as well, going 18 of 27 for 341 yards and three touchdowns. This was honestly one of the offense’s best performances so far and served as proof that the Raiders could win without Gruden at the helm.

9. Raiders notch a win agaisnt the Eagles and begin a new era

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Lastly, there was the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, where the Raiders managed to pull out a 33-22 victory. The charge was led by Derek Carr, Joshua Jacobs, and Kenyan Drake, who combined for 425 yards and four touchdowns during the game. The defense also held the opposing offense to seven points in the first half of the game and allowed most of the 22 points during garbage time in the fourth quarter. This was a good showing by both sides and a pretty promising sign of things to come.

In the end, the Las Vegas Raiders are a mixed bag right now. They hold wins over the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Denver Broncos, but lost to the Chicago Bears and division rival the Los Angeles Chargers. They also suffered an embarrassing loss against the Chicago Bears and a pretty bad defensive showing against the Miami Dolphins.