Getty Josh Jacobs with Jimmy Garoppolo and Josh McDaniels.
The Las Vegas Raiders offense has struggled all season and may have had its worst performance yet against the Detroit Lions in Week 8. The group only scored seven points in the 26-14 loss.
Head coach Josh McDaniels has long been considered an offensive guru but he doesn’t seem to have answers on how to fix this Raiders offense. However, the onus is on him to solve this puzzle. Running back Josh Jacobs was asked how to fix what is going on with the offense and he seemingly deferred the responsibility to McDaniels.
“I don’t know,” Jacobs said in his October 30 post media availability. “It ain’t my job.”
This may have been a bit of a shot at McDaniels. It’s his job to fix the offense but he’s not doing it. Essentially, he’s not doing his job. Jacobs certainly doesn’t seem to think the struggles are on the players as he made it clear that they worked really hard heading into Week 8.
“I feel like each guy, especially this week, came in and worked their a** off,” Jacobs said. “We didn’t get the result that we needed. Obviously, it’s a lot that we didn’t do right out there on the field. That’s on us.”
This has the makings of a situation that only gets worse before it gets better.
Davante Adams at a Loss for Words
Perhaps the player most frustrated on the Raiders is wide receiver Davante Adams. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo missed him on multiple passes throughout the game – three of which could’ve been touchdowns.
Adams didn’t even to what to say after the game.
“I honestly don’t know what to say at this moment, I wish I had the words to say something that’s not going to get blown up in the media and taken out of context,” Adams said in his October 30 media availability, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic.
Frustration is clearly mounting for Adams. He’s been open about his feelings but things still aren’t getting better. He had just one catch for 11 yards against the Lions, which is a problem for a team dedicating $14.7 million in salary cap space to Adams. Josh McDaniels acknowledged that Adams is doing his job and not getting rewarded for it.
“He can only do what he can do,” McDaniels said in his postgame press conference. “Receivers are the last in the chain of events … and he got himself open a handful of times. At the end of the day, we have to keep working and do your job the best you can.”
Davante Adams Still Has Confidence in the Offense
The Raiders do have talent on offense. Davante Adams has made three straight All-Pro teams and Josh Jacobs led the NFL in rushing last season. Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Renfrow are very good wide receivers while second-round pick tight end Michael Mayer has shown really good flashes.
Left tackle Kolton Miller is Pro Football Focus‘ third-highest graded tackle this season. There’s no reason for the Raiders to have the third-lowest scoring offense in the NFL right now. Despite all of these struggles, Adams believes that the team can still field a good offense.
“It’s not hard to maintain the confidence in our offense,” Adams said. “It’s just hard to curb your frustration when you can’t put it together when you know you should.”