This feeling should be very familiar if you’re a Raiders fan. It should feel somewhat familiar if you’re a fan to see the Raiders sitting at 2-0. That’s where the Raiders are right now after a big win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
It should feel familiar if you’re a fan to be telling everyone that they never should’ve doubted the Raiders after big unexpected wins to start the season. There is certainly a lot of that happening right now. And understandably so.
It should all feel familiar because the Raiders were in this same position last year.
Last year, the Raiders had a big win on the East Coast to begin the season at Carolina and then they came home for their first-ever game at Allegiant Stadium to upset the Saints on Monday Night Football.
This year they began the season with a big upset over the Ravens on Monday Night Football in the first-ever game at Allegiant with fans present. Then today they took the trip to the Eastern time zone to beat the Steelers on a short week.
West Coast teams playing out east at what is 10 am on their bodily clocks and in a hostile environment is always a disadvantage. More so than even a regular road game away from your own friendly confines. But, again, the Raiders had success away from home last season, so Gruden isn’t buying into the accomplishment.
“We were 6-2 last season on the road. So, it’s not like we’re going home celebrating,” Jon Gruden said. “We’ve got two wins, two AFC wins, and we got to get ready for Miami. So, we got to keep out level-headedness.”
That 6-2 road record didn’t mean much considering they had the inverse record at home. Neither did their 2-0 open to the season considering they faded down the stretch of the season.
So, as you can see, these comparisons to last season are not ones that I’m making on my own. These are the comparisons the Raiders are currently making, because they know that being 2-0 — while awesome, and impressive — won’t mean much if they can’t keep it going.
“We’ve started 2-0 before, but we got to keep going,” Derek Carr said after the game. “We can’t let this thing go downhill. Keeping in the mindset, staying in the process, staying in the channel, those are all the things that matter. . .
Carr talks about the mindset of the team giving him confidence they can sustain their success this season. Several players have been asked about the confidence in this team. And it’s honestly the same thing we’ve heard so many times before.
Last season, when the Raiders started the season 6-4, Carr said that 6-4 felt different than the same 6-4 record in 2019 and then the team collapsed just as they had in 2019. Probably best to not buy into this 2-0 feeling being any different than last season’s version. Gruden certainly isn’t buying into it.
“We’re all confident, we have a confident group. We were confident last year,” Gruden responded to the question of team confidence. “We lost some heart-breaking (games). Gut-wrenching, disgusting losses at the end of football games. So, we got a long way to go and we’re nowhere near perfect.”
There are signs that could suggest this team might be better equipped to sustain success. The play of the defense first and foremost. And it also is a good sign that Gruden and his players aren’t falling into the traps of thinking things are going to be completely different this time.
If things are to be different, they have to make it so. And it is still very early yet. Enjoy the win, but make no mistake, there’s a lot of work still to be done. As Carr said it “Everyone after the game is like ‘hey, we’ll celebrate on the plane, but as soon as we land we’ll get back to work’.”