Just a week ago, the Raiders were shut out by the Vikings at home in one of the worst offensive performances in franchise history. The Raiders made it past the 45-yard line of the Vikings just once in that entire game.
Four days later, the Las Vegas Raiders set a record for the most points scored in a single game in franchise history. It’s incredible just how quickly things have changed.
According to The Athletic, the 63 points scored by the Raiders in Week 15 was the second-most by any team in the NFL since 2000. Here is what the site had to say about their outstanding performance on Thursday Night Football:
Only one team, Miami in this year’s 70-20 win over Denver, has scored more points in a game since at least 2000. The Dolphins have Mike McDaniel calling plays and the fastest skill position group in the league.
The Raiders have an interim head coach, Antonio Pierce, and a rookie quarterback, Aidan O’Connell, who even after Thursday is only 30th in the league in passer rating. It’s probably not enough to get Pierce the full-time job, but he’s 3-3 since taking the helm.
Is the offense finally breaking out of their slump? Probably not. The Raiders scored three touchdowns on defense and had several turnovers set them up in scoring position. But the Raiders did score six touchdowns on offense and O’Connell played the best game of his young career.
With just three games left in the 2023 regular season, it will be fascinating to see what the offense looks like the rest of the way. But there is some reason to be optimistic about this group going forward.
