The Raiders' biggest surprise at the midseason point of 2023-24
It's that time of the year when we grade everything at the midseason point of the season. It's after Week 9 now, so it technically is the middle of the season. This is where we have pretty much learned what every team is or will be in 2023-24.That is unless you are the Las Vegas […]
It's that time of the year when we grade everything at the midseason point of the season. It's after Week 9 now, so it technically is the middle of the season. This is where we have pretty much learned what every team is or will be in 2023-24.
That is unless you are the Las Vegas Raiders, who, after firing Josh McDaniels and seeing them play under Antonio Pierce, look like a team we last saw a few years ago. So, they are the exception.
But, so far, for every team, there has been that "biggest surprise" factor, even for the Raiders. For the Raiders, well, their biggest surprise is something no one really saw coming.
Raiders' biggest midseason surprise
Usually, when we do these things, we do a player or a coach, you know, things of that sort. But here, I'll go ahead and pick an entire unit, really in both ways. The offense and the defense can both go in this category. The offense has been surprising because, well, on paper, they look great, but they just passed 20 points as an offense in the win over the Giants. That was their first time all year actually putting out a good offensive game plan.
But the defense, now that is the real surprise of this 2023 season.
The defense is 21st in points allowed per game, which may not seem like the best, but on paper, they are not great, so, in a way, they are overachieving. The Raiders allow 20 points per game after allowing the New York Giants to score just six points. The defense has had great outings, and honestly, outside of the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills game, where they scored 38 points, the defense has looked good in almost every game.
They have played with a bad offense that can't help them stay off of the field, so that also doesn't help. However, this unit is consistently playing well and is much better than they were last season. The best part is that they will likely only get better under Antonio Pierce, and they will only get better as the offense gets better.
They have by far been the biggest surprise of the 2023-24 season.
Raiders’ Josh Jacobs has comments about Antonio Pierce that will fire you up
The Raiders beat the Giants on Sunday.
