As the Las Vegas Raiders attempt to build on a solid 10-7 season, there are many circumstances that show the team is progressing, even if they were to go 10-7 again. Throughout their 10 victories, the Raiders tended to keep games close, securing only three wins in two-possession games while logging six wins on the final play of the game.

Product Of Circumstance

While six walk-off wins in a season is an impressive feat, it is not exactly easily repeated. Many of those games came down to whether or not the Raiders DC pair of Derek Carr and Daniel Carlson could execute under strenuous circumstances, which they fortunately did. However, if any number of plays leading up to the walk-off went awry, the Raiders could have very easily finished with a 7-10 record, or worse.

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Few Dominant Wins

In the Raiders' 26-17 and 34-24 victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos, respectively, Las Vegas won uncharacteristically by comfortably cruising past their opponents and keeping fans' heart rates at relatively healthy levels. Although winning is the ultimate goal, how a team wins can reveal much about them. The Raiders clearly showed grit and resilience to not buckle when down a score late in the game. With this foundation of toughness, perhaps the Raiders can grow into a team more prepared to hold the lead, run away, and hide at the end of games.

Singular Focus

Many coaches will teach teams to take games one possession at a time. Meanwhile, it felt as though the Raiders never fully grasped this. Whether they started the game hot or cold, as soon as a lead was established in the second half, it never held long as the team would attempt to too-heavily emphasize running out the clock or being content with a lead. When looking at the good teams around the league, you can't find a team consistently having success winning games late. While they may have some nail-biting finishes, a majority of their wins tend to come handily.

Progress?

Las Vegas could win ten games next season, but could still be much higher regarded if the "walk-off wins" lessened. As seen in the playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, last-minute drives cannot always be relied upon. No matter the team's level of success with them previously, circumstances even out. The way around this is to turn up the aggressiveness throughout the game, whether the team is winning or losing. Obviously, there is a cutoff point where the game is solidly in hand where the team can keep the clock running to ensure success. Yet, the Raiders so rarely got to that point in 2021. Leading late in the second half never guarantees victory, as the Raiders displayed, and while winning is nice, not having the game decided on the final play (and still winning) is even nicer.