Nov. 17, 2013. The Oakland Raiders last won a football game almost exactly a year ago, and are at the halfway point to an 0-16 record this season.
Their overall offense (288.6 yards per game) ranks dead last in the NFL, their average points per game (16.1) is second-to-last, their turnover ratio is tied for 30th (-10) and they now have an interim coach to field the blame after Dennis Allen, a former Broncos defensive coordinator, was fired four games in.
Oakland’s numbers don’t lie. But they also don’t tell the full truth.
Playing the toughest schedule in the NFL — their opponents combined for a .578 winning percentage last season — the Raiders have had the odds stacked against them since Day 1.
Yet, they were within one score of beating the Seahawks in Week 9. They fell only three points short of defeating the Chargers in Week 6. And in Week 3 against the Patriots, who just , the Raiders lost by seven.
“For any franchise that’s trying to find its way back, I think you need a signature moment, you need a signature game, you need something that just validates all the hard work that you’ve been putting in,” safety Charles Woodson said. “I think once that happens then we’ll be able to move forward from that, grow from it and become a better team.
“That moment is going to come. We are 0-8, and I understand that, but this team is getting better.”
If recent history is any guide, that signature game may not come Sunday, when the Raiders host the 6-2 Broncos.
Peyton Manning admitted he “stunk” in his team’s 43-21 loss in New England, but the Broncos haven’t lost back-to-back games since September 2012 — and they haven’t lost to the Raiders since 2011.
Given the state of both teams now, it may be easy to forget the Broncos-Raiders rivalry that once was, when Raiders Week was one to mark on Denver’s calendar. Since Tony Sparano took over as Oakland’s interim coach on Sept. 30, the Raiders have slowly but steadily tried to erase the bad of the franchise’s recent past while bringing back the good and keeping an eye on the future.
The playoffs aren’t in it, at least not this season. But there are glimmers of hope, especially in rookie linebacker Khalil Mack, who has yet to get a sack but has graded out well, according to , tallying seven quarterback hits and 23 quarterback hurries this season.
One area, among others, Sparano wants to see improvement is the turnover ratio.
“In the first four weeks of the season, we had taken the ball away five times,” he said. “Right now we’ve only taken the ball away one time and we’ve had tremendous opportunities the last four weeks. We just haven’t finished the play.”
“Taking advantage” are two words Sparano has used often, and ones the Raiders have taken to heart. They know their record speaks volumes, but their past does too, especially against Denver.
“I think one of the things we have to do right here right now is to continue to play with the effort that we’ve played with over the last several weeks,” Sparano said. “And of all sudden something good is going to happen here for us. We have to force something good to happen, not wait for it to happen, and I think that’s what the Raiders of the past did.”
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or at twitter.com/nickijhabvala
