Coming into the 2022 season, the Las Vegas Raiders were a popular Super Bowl dark horse pick. They rebuilt the brain trust of the organization, taking Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels from the New England Patriots to be their new general manager and head coach. After making an unexpected run to the playoffs last season, that was seen as the minimum to accomplish this season.
After three games, the Raiders’ chances of making the postseason could already be dashed. The team is one of two winless teams remaining in the NFL, along with the Houston Texans. No one predicted this in the preseason, as Las Vegas had a lot of talent on both ends of the ball.
One of their big acquisitions this offseason was acquiring Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers. The team traded a first and second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to Green Bay in exchange for the All-Pro wide receiver, teaming up once again with his collegiate teammate, quarterback Derek Carr.
His first season in Sin City has not gone according to plan thus far. After a huge performance in Week 1 when he caught 10 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, Adams has only seven catches for 48 yards and two touchdowns in the following two games.
Las Vegas has lost their three games this season by a combined 13 points, as they blew a huge lead against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 and their comeback fell just short against the Tennessee Titans in Week 3. Adams spoke out about the team falling short of expectations thus far this season.
“Frustrated and angry,” Adams said, via SI.com. “Expect more. It’s not easy to win in this league. We know that. Nobody’s naive to the fact that nobody’s just going to lay down and just give you a victory, but at the end of the day we expect more and we will do better as we move forward.”
Since 1979, only six teams have ever made the postseason after an 0-3 start. The last team to do it was the Texans in 2018. They followed an 0-3 start up with nine consecutive victories and finished the season 11-5, earning a wild card spot.
Las Vegas certainly has their work cut out for them to turn their season around. Set to host the Denver Broncos in Week 4, that is a must-win game if the Raiders want to have any hopes of getting their season back on track.
Will the team follow Adams’ leadership and do something with their frustrations? The Raiders have been in every game, they just haven’t executed when needed the most. Cleaning a few things up should lead to better results as they have the talent to win games.
