Raiders Must Improve in One-Score Games in 2023

The Las Vegas Raiders played in 13 one-score games in 2022, but won only four of them.

The Las Vegas Raiders did not have a good season in 2022 for several reasons.

One of the reasons was that they played in so many one-score games and did not win many of them. The Raiders played in 13 one-score games, decided by eight points or fewer, and only won four.

That means the Raiders came up short in nine of those games en route to a 6-11 finish, missing the playoffs for the eighth time in 10 seasons. This record in close games must improve in 2023 if the Raiders want to return in the postseason.

Let’s break down a few of the Raiders’ one-score wins and losses and see where things went right or wrong.

The first one-score game the Raiders won last season was on the road against the Denver Broncos. Running back Josh Jacobs ran a wheel route past Broncos’ linebacker Josey Jewell and picked up 43 yards to get the Raiders into the red zone, eventually leading to a Daniel Carlson game-tying field goal.

In overtime, after a significant gain by Foster Moreau, Derek Carr lofted a pass to a wide-open Davante Adams, who scored the walk-off touchdown. What worked for the Raiders in this game was trusting their stars, Jacobs and Adams, to win them the game, and that’s precisely what they did.

The Raiders lost to the Los Angeles Rams in week 14 on Thursday Night Football. They led 16-3 in the fourth quarter but allowed a long drive by newly-signed quarterback Baker Mayfield, resulting in a touchdown for Cam Akers.

The Raiders would quickly give the ball right back to the Rams. After an eight-play, 98-yard drive by Mayfield with no timeouts, the Rams tied the game on a touchdown reception by Van Jefferson and took the lead after the extra point.

It was a brutal collapse by the Raiders, and they must avoid games like this in 2023. There are more instances of these games, like being outscored by the Jacksonville Jaguars, 17-0, in the second half, and being outscored, 22-0, in the fourth quarter and overtime by the Arizona Cardinals.

The Raiders must improve their record in crunch time next season if they want to contend for a playoff spot.

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