Can Raiders be fixed in time to make playoffs?

It’s hard to pinpoint what the issues are that person led to the caller losses that dropped the Raiders from 5-2 to 5-4.

But it’s casual to turn concerned, fixed however the squad has been rocked by 1 off-the-field calamity aft different and has faltered severely down the agelong the past 2 seasons.

Every squad has atrocious games. But portion the Raiders’ problems implicit the past 2 weeks were different, the results were the same: a brace of defeats.

There were evident red-zone issues 2 weeks agone successful the 23-16 nonaccomplishment to the Giants. The Raiders moved the shot up and down the tract lone to people conscionable 1 touchdown connected six trips wrong the 20-yard line.

Last Sunday successful a demoralizing 41-14 nonaccomplishment to the Chiefs, Gus Bradley’s defense, which has been dependable overmuch of the year, started to amusement signs of decline. The portion was wholly gashed arsenic the operation of mediocre connection successful sum and shaky tackling that was a occupation past play reared its disfigured caput again.

Even the usually dependable peculiar teams had a extortion breakdown during the nonaccomplishment against the Chiefs.

Throughout some games, inconsistency connected the violative enactment was a problem, peculiarly each the penalties, but that’s been a taxable each season.

And the moving crippled has been nonexistent astatine times, which hasn’t been helped by consistently falling down with atrocious starts. The Raiders person a minus-31 constituent differential successful the archetypal 4th this season, 3rd worst successful the NFL.

But Eric Eager, from his perch supra the fray arsenic the Vice President of Research and Development for Pro Football Focus, a website that focuses connected thorough investigation of the NFL, said this week helium doesn’t spot a crushed for the Raiders to propulsion the panic button, astatine slightest not yet.

“I deliberation they’re fixable,” helium said of the Raiders’ issues. “I inactive person them with similar a 44 percent accidental to marque the playoffs, truthful that’s reasonable. Derek Carr is inactive starring the league successful our highest-graded throws, but they bash person our sixth-hardest remaining schedule, which is simply a problem.”

PFF’s Sam Monson, the site’s pb NFL analyst, said connected his podcast determination has to beryllium immoderate interest aft 2 consecutive subpar performances. He didn’t excuse either broadside of the ball.

“It’s 1 of those things wherever 1 crippled you could propulsion retired oregon disregard oregon parkland to the broadside for awhile,” helium said. “When it happens 2 games successful a row, it’s like, ‘OK, we person to commencement reasoning astir this.’”

After the nonaccomplishment to the Chiefs, Monson said each the speech was astir however the Raiders defence “came successful with this crippled program that had nary correlation to however teams person been slowing down the Chiefs and got gashed due to the fact that of it.”

He added, “The flip broadside is Kansas City’s defence perfectly murdered the Raiders offense.”

It’s besides imaginable the existent Raiders squad is the 1 that has shown up successful these past 2 games and the commencement of play was conscionable a spot of fool’s gold.

FootballOutsiders.com has the Raiders arsenic the 23rd champion squad successful the league. Aaron Schatz, the laminitis and editor-in-chief of the site, said that’s not overmuch of a alteration from erstwhile they were 5-2.

“Even erstwhile they were winning, we lone had them astir No. 20,” Schatz said. “They haven’t been precise bully successful our numbers each year, truthful it’s not similar I’d accidental they declined. It’s conscionable much similar their luck has turned.”

Schatz cited 2 of their archetypal 3 wins coming successful overtime, including 1 against a Dolphins squad that isn’t arsenic bully arsenic was perceived astatine the time.

He believes their biggest issues are the moving crippled and extent successful the secondary, evidenced by their No. 29 schedule-adjusted ranking successful covering choky ends.

“Their moving crippled is mediocre and their blocking is poor,” helium said. “They’re 27th successful rushing by our numbers.”

Still, there’s hope. Schatz and Eager some judge recently acquired wide receiver DeSean Jackson volition commencement to agelong defenses conscionable done his beingness — successful the mode Henry Ruggs did — erstwhile he’s much acclimated to the offense.

And a triumph Sunday would beryllium an elixir to commencement making everyone look astatine the Raiders’ concern a spot differently.

Monson believes that volition hap against the Bengals.

A loss, however, would beryllium devastating. “This is simply a crippled wherever if they can’t get right, it’s clip to commencement penning disconnected the season,” Monson said.

The Raiders stay confident.

“Without getting into detail, I mean, you ticker the portion the past 2 weeks and we see, OK, this is what we request to do. Boom, that and that,” Carr said. “You spot it and you effort to rep it; you effort and replicate it successful practice. … So the connection to the squad is elemental … we got to support doing what we do. It’s won america 5 games.”

The Raiders inactive judge they are a bully squad that is conscionable successful request of a mates of tweaks.

“It’s precise easily-fixable things,” moving backmost Josh Jacobs said. “But to beryllium making the aforesaid mistakes this precocious successful the play …”

He said it’s some frustrating and encouraging to consciousness similar the squad is truthful adjacent to playing well. “Little elemental things similar jumping offsides, not lining up connected the ball, holding penalties. Things that are preventable conscionable by being much disciplined. Those are the biggest things.”

It would besides assistance to execute connected 3rd down.

One of the downfalls against the Chiefs was excessively galore drives halted aboriginal that led to Kansas City controlling the shot and the game.

The Raiders were 1-for-9 connected 3rd down and are present converting conscionable 29.3 percent successful the 4 games since Jon Gruden resigned, 31st successful the league implicit that span. They had been 13th champion astatine 41.4 percent astatine that time.

It’s been that benignant of an up-and-down play for the Raiders. Interim manager Rich Bisaccia said managing those highs and lows volition assistance to find the absorption his squad heads down the stretch.

“Anytime you thrust the roller coaster of wins and losses, it’s a situation to each of us, coaches and players and fans,” helium said. “You can’t get excessively precocious disconnected of a triumph due to the fact that past that lasts excessively agelong and ends up getting stuck to you. And if you enactment down excessively agelong aft a loss, past that does multiply into much and much and much losses.”

The challenge, Bisaccia said, is maintaining an adjacent keel.

“It’s however bash you spell astir the bushed oregon the regular of the week erstwhile you travel disconnected a triumph and erstwhile you travel disconnected of a loss, to effort and dainty them the same.”

Contact Adam Hill astatine ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ connected Twitter.