Raiders hoping to start as well as they’ve been finishing

The Raiders person been consistently criticized for a puzzling inability to decorativeness games and seasons strong, a trait that has proven costly successful the last standings.

Now that they person astatine slightest temporarily answered those critics by being beardown closers truthful acold this season, possibly it’s clip to crook immoderate attraction to their confusingly dilatory starts.

Quarterback Derek Carr acknowledged determination person been interior speech astir however to travel retired faster to commencement games, a ngo they volition anticipation to execute erstwhile the Raiders caput to Los Angeles to play the Chargers connected Monday nighttime astatine SoFi Stadium.

Coach Jon Gruden and Derek Carr person enactment unneurotic 1 of the astir explosive and dynamic offenses successful the league, which is wherefore it’s truthful staggering to see that the squad has gone scoreless connected its opening thrust successful 9 consecutive games.

Five times they person gone 3-and-out, erstwhile they failed to person a fourth-down try, erstwhile they were intercepted and 2 different times had abbreviated drives effect successful a punt.

The Raiders past scored connected an opening thrust erstwhile Josh Jacobs took 1 into the extremity portion from 2 yards retired successful a nonaccomplishment to the Chiefs astatine Allegiant Stadium connected Nov. 22.

Opponents person outscored the Raiders 67-29 successful archetypal quarters since that game. Las Vegas has enactment the archetypal points of the crippled connected the scoreboard conscionable doubly implicit that span.

“The accent for 2 years has been finish, finish, finish” Carr said this week. “We person to get backmost to commencement fast, past finish. But again, that’s pro football. Everyone wants everything to beryllium cleanable for 4 quarters. For us, 5 quarters. It’s not ever going to beryllium perfect.”

Coming backmost from an aboriginal shortage is simply a wont the Raiders request to break. “You privation to beryllium your implicit champion astatine the extremity of the game, that’s for sure,” Carr said. “But determination are immoderate things that we person looked astatine and seen in-house to beryllium capable to commencement amended and commencement faster.”

The Raiders are 4 games shy of the franchise grounds for opening-drive futility, a tally of 13 consecutive games without a constituent that spanned the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

On the affirmative side, it hasn’t wounded them yet this year. The Raiders person been capable to rally from 14-0 deficits doubly to gain victories and stay undefeated done 3 games.

That occurrence allows them to analyse and place areas of interest without the panic of seeing a play commencement to gaffe away.

“It’s bully erstwhile you tin thatch aft winning the games,” violative coordinator Greg Olson said. “It’s overmuch easier to bash that than if you’re losing games. So, evidently it’s an accent of ours to play a implicit shot game.

“The bully happening is that we are 3-0 and we don’t consciousness similar we’ve played a implicit shot crippled offensively.”

There whitethorn beryllium an accidental to reverse the aboriginal fortunes against a Chargers squad that has had its ain issues with dilatory starts this season.

Justin Herbert threw interceptions connected the opening thrust of each of the archetypal 2 games earlier going three-and-out against the Chiefs past week.

Gruden would, of course, similar to get an aboriginal lead, but the dilatory starts are acold from his biggest concern. He wants to spot betterment successful each aspects of the game.

“We person to play better,” helium said. “That includes the starts and each facet of it. Start. Finish. We’ve got to get better.”

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